Ship crew, stowaways appear in court

TANYA WATERWORTH

IT TOOK three days, but “by the grace of God, we swam until we reached the shore”.

That was from stowaways, Hassani Rajabu, 24, and Amiri Sarumu, 20, who survived three days at sea after being chucked overboard in South African waters by the captain and crew of a Chinese vessel in March.

Rajabu and Sarumu pleaded guilty in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday to being in South Africa illegally and for stowing away on a vessel in Durban harbour in March.

Their statement to the court revealed a harrowing tale of survival.

Public prosecutor Vishalen Moodley read out the charges, saying that on March 23, the pair boarded the vessel Top Grace in the port of Durban.

Defence lawyer Toby Sigcawu said Rajabu and Sarumu, both from Tanzania, had first entered South Africa in September last year through a hole in a border fence in the hope of making an income to send home to their families.

They made their way to Durban where they lived on the street, earning cash through odd jobs.

Deciding that they could earn a better income overseas, the pair “jumped onto a ship by climbing up a rope on March 23 and hid in the ship. Their main aim was to make a better living in Europe,” said Sigcawu.

But four days later, they were spotted by one of the ship’s officers.

They were given life vests and a “makeshift raft”, put overboard and told to “swim for the shore”.

They reached a Zinkwazi beach, near Kwadukuza, on March 29 and were taken to Stanger Hospital where they were treated for dehydration. They were arrested on April 1 and have remained in custody.

When the two stowaways were found on the beach, the master and crew of Top Grace were still in South African waters and were immediately asked to proceed to the port of Richards Bay.

On April 17, the master of the ship, Cui Rongli, and six crew members appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court where they pled guilty to the attempted murder of the two Tanzanian stowaways.

In their plea, they said that when the two stowaways were found on board, they were wary of them and asked them to wear face masks in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They stated the pair refused to wear masks, so they put them in a separate room as they did not know their Covid-19 status and feared for the rest of the crew.

“The crew acted in a threatening manner by banging on the vessel’s deck and the men descended into the raft,” said the statement.

The two attempted murder charges of the stowaways were taken as one for sentencing and the ship’s master received a fine of R100 000 or four months imprisonment. For failing to report the stowaways, he was sentenced to a fine of R10 000 or three months imprisonment, suspended for five years on condition he is not convicted of the same offence during the period of suspension.

He was also fined an additional R50 000 or 12 months imprisonment for misconduct, also suspended for five years.

The crew were each sentenced to a fine of R50 000 or two years imprisonment for the attempted murders.

All the fines were paid and the master and crew were handed over to immigration officials.

Sentencing Rajabu and Sarumu, magistrate Anand Maharaj took their ordeal into account and highlighted that the ship’s master and crew had also acted illegally in “chucking” the stowaways overboard.

He sentenced them to three months imprisonment, suspended for five years providing they are not convicted of a similar offence during the period of suspension.

After the sentencing, the two stowaways were returned to Westville Prison to await deportation.