Asanda Baninzi was 18 in 2001, when he and a Cape Flats gangster named Mtutuzeli Nombewu, known as Wox, began hijacking cars in Gugulethu and Nyanga, two townships on the southeastern edge of Cape Town. In the space of a few months 14 people were shot dead. Most were motorists and passengers picked at random; several were couples sitting together in parked cars. The reason he gave the court, in a written plea explanation read out by his advocate, was money: money to live on, and money to buy Mandrax and other drugs.
In 2004, at 21, he stood in the Cape High Court and answered "guilty" 51 times. He was convicted of 14 murders with other charges, among them kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted murder. Judge Abe Motala then sentenced him to 19 life terms and a further 189 years. He was already serving four life sentences for the murder of a family of four in Delft, according to the Sapa report of the sentencing printed by the Mail & Guardian.
Little is known of Baninzi's life before 2001. IOL's court reports describe him as "of Gugulethu" and give his age as 18 at the time of the crimes. His plea explanation said that between May and August 2001 he became "friendly with a group of bad people," among them the man he called Wox. Neither of them worked, he said. They smoked Mandrax every day, "as often as we could," and they needed money for that and for living.
Their answer, he told the court, was to hijack cars, kidnap and rob the people inside, and strip the vehicles to sell the parts. He said Wox and other members of the group did the killing, and that he knew, when they set out, that people would be shot. He admitted taking an active part in the hijackings, the kidnappings and the robberies. He also said that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and that he had been aware of his actions throughout, even under the influence of Mandrax.
IOL's report of the plea described the method as random hijackings, often carried out before or after the men had smoked Mandrax, followed by robbery and killing. Most of the victims were shot.
Nombewu is described in the same reports as a Cape Flats gangster, and in the Sapa report as Baninzi's partner in crime. He did not live to stand trial. He died by suicide in September 2001 after a six-hour police siege, IOL reported. The Sapa report gives the setting as a house in Gugulethu where police had cornered him.
Fourteen people were named in court as murder victims: Moegamat Brand, Ryan Masetu, Mqibalo Mnisi, Nceba Faltein, Siseko Nxu, Richard Dantjies, Faith Qwelane, Ayanda Bokweni, Linda Mbabisa, Lent Ndzoto, Nolwandle Nkutshu, Vuyo Tati, Nomvuyo Mtiki and Sydney Molefe. Some of the names are spelled more than one way. Linda Mbabisa is also printed as Mbambisa, and Kashiefa Ajam's report gives Brand's first name as Mogamat and Mnisi's surname as Mninsi.
Little is known about who they were. Moegamat Brand was a taxi driver, and Ryan Masetu was his last passenger. Richard Dantjies and Faith Qwelane were a couple. So were Ayanda Bokweni and Linda Mbabisa. Nomvuyo Mtiki lived in Gugulethu. Their ages, their work and their families have not been made public, beyond the presence of their relatives and friends in the public gallery at the trial.
The plea explanation went through the attacks in order.
The first incident in the charge sheet took place on June 20, 2001. Baninzi and Wox hijacked a couple and their Volkswagen minibus in Gugulethu and robbed them. Six charges related to that night.
Three charges related to the killing of Moegamat Brand, the taxi driver, and Ryan Masetu. Weeks later, Mqibalo Mnisi was found shot in Delft.
On July 22, 2001, according to the plea, Baninzi and Wox held up Richard Dantjies and Faith Qwelane at gunpoint and took them and their Volkswagen. The couple were driven to Nyanga, where, Baninzi said, Wox shot them both. The two men took their money and a cellphone.
On July 25, 2001, Baninzi admitted, a couple parked in Gugulethu were hijacked, kidnapped, shot and left for dead. Whether they lived, and which of the men fired, has not been reported.
On August 8, 2001, Ayanda Bokweni and Linda Mbabisa were hijacked and driven to the Nyanga area. Nombewu shot Bokweni there, according to the plea. Mbabisa was taken elsewhere and later shot dead.
Nomvuyo Mtiki was robbed at gunpoint in Gugulethu by the two men, who posed as police officers to get inside. Nombewu shot her, the plea said.
No detail has been made public of the deaths of Nceba Faltein, Siseko Nxu, Lent Ndzoto, Nolwandle Nkutshu, Vuyo Tati and Sydney Molefe beyond their inclusion among the murder counts.
Before the Gugulethu and Nyanga case came to trial, Baninzi had already been sentenced for another set of killings. The Sapa report of May 5, 2004 said he was serving four life sentences for the murder of a family of four in Delft, on the Cape Flats. The investigating officer, Inspector Jonathan Morris, told the court during the 2004 hearing that the family had been "wiped out" for informing the police of Baninzi's whereabouts.
A separate IOL report of the 2004 sentencing said that in December the same court had convicted Baninzi of 14 other crimes and sentenced him to four life terms and 67 years. The year of that December judgment and the nature of those crimes were not stated, and the names and ages of the Delft family have not been made public.
The date and circumstances of Baninzi's arrest have not been reported. The judge accepted that he had cooperated with the police investigating the case. Inspector Morris, who attended most of the crime scenes, was singled out for praise by the judge at sentencing.
The trial opened in the Cape High Court before Justice Abe Motala on a Monday, the Sapa report said, with Jan Theron prosecuting and advocate Keith Hutton for the defense. The charges, as IOL listed them, were 14 counts of murder, 15 of kidnapping, 12 of robbery with aggravating circumstances, three of attempted murder, one of housebreaking, one of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and others.
Baninzi answered "guilty" 51 times. On one count he pleaded not guilty, a plea that surprised his own advocate, Kashiefa Ajam reported, and the prosecutor told the court the state would not pursue it.
Hutton then read the plea explanation. In it Baninzi said that he had not personally shot any of the 14 people who died. He blamed Wox for eight of the murders and other members of the group for the rest. He said he was "very ashamed" and regretted the suffering he had caused. Ajam's report said three other men linked to the case were to be tried separately.
The public gallery was full of the victims' relatives and friends, and they wept aloud as the statement was read. Inspector Morris called it one of the worst cases of his career, and remarked that it was rare for one person to face so many charges and admit to them. Ajam's report compared the scale of the case to that of the "Station Strangler" killings of boys on the Cape Flats in the 1980s and early 1990s, for one of which a schoolteacher, Norman Afzal Simons, was serving a 25-year sentence.
Press tallies of the convictions differed. One IOL report spoke of 51 convictions, including 15 hijackings, 14 murders and 11 aggravated robberies. The Sapa report listed 14 murders and "two armed robberies" in its opening and 15 hijackings further down.
In argument on sentence, Hutton asked the court to look to rehabilitation and placed the blame for the crimes on drug addiction. Motala questioned how addiction could explain what had been done to the victims. Theron told the court that although Baninzi had pleaded guilty and shown some remorse, the state believed it would have secured convictions on at least 90 percent of the charges even if he had pleaded not guilty.
On the Wednesday of the same week, the Sapa report said, Motala sentenced Baninzi to 19 life terms plus 189 years. The judge accepted that Baninzi had shown remorse, that he had been only 18 at the time and that he had cooperated with the police, but said these factors were far outweighed by the seriousness of the crimes and the number of times they had been committed. He said he found it hard to understand what could drive someone so young to crime of that kind. "The deceased were killed in cold blood," he said, even though they appeared not to have resisted, and he spoke of how difficult it was "to express the horror" the victims must have felt.
Motala accepted that the hijackings and robberies had been carried out for drug money, but said the motive did nothing to explain or excuse the brutality of the other crimes. He praised Inspector Morris for a thorough investigation and said he was sure the community shared his view of the officer's dedication. He also spoke of the tears he had seen among the victims' families and friends during the hearing, and offered them the court's deepest sympathy.
Baninzi, in orange prison overalls, looked glum and showed no visible emotion as the sentence was read, IOL reported. When the court adjourned, spectators in the small public gallery clapped and cheered. Outside, relatives and friends of the dead hugged Morris and thanked him.
The MEC for safety and security, Leonard Ramatlakane, welcomed the sentence. Offenders who did not reform would be arrested and jailed, he said, and after ten years of democracy people needed to feel safe.
No appeal against the convictions or the sentence has been reported, and nothing has been published about Baninzi's custody or parole since 2004.
Who fired. Baninzi said he did not shoot any of the 14 people named in the murder counts, and blamed Nombewu for eight of the killings and other gang members for the rest. He nevertheless pleaded guilty to all 14 murders, and the court convicted him on that basis.
The period. His plea explanation gave May to August 2001. Judge Motala, as reported by Sapa, spoke of a rampage "over a period of nine months." One IOL report described a "nine-week crime spree" in 2001. The first incident in the charge sheet was dated June 20, 2001, and the last dated incident in the plea, August 8, 2001.
The counts. Reports of the number of charges and convictions differ: one IOL report lists 52 charges with 51 guilty pleas, another speaks of "51 convictions," and the figures for hijackings and robberies vary from report to report.
The spelling of his first name: Asanda in the IOL reports, Asande in the Sapa report.
The Delft case. The Sapa report says he was serving four life sentences for a family of four murdered in Delft; an IOL report says the same court had convicted him in December of 14 other crimes with four life terms and 67 years. The date of that judgment has not been reported.
2001, May to August: by his own plea explanation, Baninzi joins a group including Mtutuzeli Nombewu (Wox) in hijackings and robberies in Gugulethu and Nyanga.
June 20, 2001: first incident in the charge sheet, the hijacking and robbery of a couple in Gugulethu.
July 22, 2001: Richard Dantjies and Faith Qwelane are hijacked and shot dead in Nyanga.
July 25, 2001: a couple are hijacked in Gugulethu, shot and left for dead.
August 8, 2001: Ayanda Bokweni and Linda Mbabisa are hijacked and shot dead.
September 2001: Nombewu dies by suicide after a police siege in Gugulethu.
Before May 2004: Baninzi is sentenced to four life terms for the murder of a family of four in Delft (Sapa).
2004, a Monday: trial opens in the Cape High Court before Judge Abe Motala; Baninzi answers "guilty" 51 times.
2004, the Wednesday of the same week: sentenced to 19 life terms plus 189 years.
May 5, 2004: Sapa's report of the sentence is published by the Mail & Guardian.