Zealand’s days of freedom over
Man who beat two previous raps jailed for 22 years for murder
AFTER beating two murder charges, becoming a millionaire, losing his money and killing a man, Jonathan Zealand started serving a 22year sentence for murder yesterday after more than a decade of freedom.
Judge Irma Schoeman said in her judgment she had no choice but to exceed the prescribed sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for the killer of Helenvale resident Angers Jordaan.
Accordingly, she sentenced Zealand to 20 years’ imprisonment for the murder and 15 years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition – and ordered that he serve an effective 22 years behind bars.
Jordaan’s mother, Katie, said she was satisfied with the sentence.
“But what choice do I have? My son is still dead,” she said.
Zealand was convicted of the murder last year after the court heard that he passed Jordaan in the street, took out a firearm and shot him in the head several times.
“In this instance there is no evidence about a possible motive,” Schoeman said.
“He chose not to play open cards with the court.”
Katie said as far as she knew her son and Zealand did not even know each other.
“I only discovered who he was after he killed my son,” she said.
She said she was now helping to raise Jordaan’s daughter and he would have been very proud of her.
“He always told her he didn’t want to see a bad school report ever,” Katie said.
“This year she got certificates, a trophy and a medal for her work.”
Schoeman said she had considered it aggravating that Zealand was walking in a public area with a loaded, illegal firearm.
“He fired a multitude of shots. He took no responsibility. His victim was unarmed,” she said.
She described the murder as a “callous deed without any thought for his victim”. Schoeman said one of the state witnesses, Natasha Prince, who was the mother of two of Zealand’s children, was placed under witness protection but had left the programme and disappeared before the state could call her to give evidence.
The indictment said she was with him on the night of the murder.
Professor Deon Erasmus, who was acting for Zealand, brought an application yesterday to appeal against his client’s conviction and sentence.
In a story which made headlines between 2005 and 2008, Zealand sued the government and received R2.5-million after spending almost 2 000 days in jail because the paperwork for his release had not been sent to St Albans Prison.
This was after he successfully appealed against his conviction and sentence on another murder charge.
Zealand was also charged with another murder, but in that instance charges were withdrawn.
By the time he was arrested in 2016, he had squandered all the money and was working as a taxi guard.
Schoeman will give judgment in his appeal application on Tuesday.