V3625 William Harris |
44 |
Eight prisoners were charged with the murder of one of their cellmates and with two counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm to two others. Seven of them were convicted and sentenced to death. Pieter Pienaar was found not guilty.
Cell 6 in the Allandale Prison near Cape Town was about ten by five metres and its regular occupants were the eight accused and at least seventeen other Category A prisoners. In the corner of the cell were a toilet and a shower; neither had a door. The cell was so overcrowded that when the prisoners rolled out their sleeping mats there was no more than a hand’s width between them. When an additional prisoner was allocated to Cell 6, there was no space for another sleeping mat and arrangements had to be made so that three prisoners were to occupy two sleeping mats. There were members of at least two prison gangs in Cell 6, the 26s and the 28s, who were mortal enemies.
The scene was set for murder.
About two days before his death the deceased Sharief Hendry was sent to Cell 6. For a night or two the existing sleeping arrangements were kept in place: the 26s slept in a row against one wall and the 28s against the other. There were a few independents in the cell, prisoners who had not joined either gang, but even they had formed a loose alliance with the one gang or the other in order to secure some protection. The prisoners were all classified as Category A prisoners, which meant that they were still thought to be relatively manageable and capable of being rehabilitated, notwithstanding that every one of them had many previous convictions and that all were serving medium to long sentences.
Hendry decided to rearrange the sleeping positions on the evening of 5 January 1985. This was achieved by moving three men out of the right-hand side where the 26s had their territory to the opposite side, traditionally the 28s’ side, and moving two men from that side over to the right. The result was that space in the 28s’ territory became more cramped than before. Two of the accused, Meiring and Botha, were directly affected by this move. Although they were independents, it was known that their sympathies lay with the 28s.
The 28s decided to do something about the newcomer’s cheek. Earlier in the day there had been an altercation between Harris and Swartbooi on one side and Hendry and another prisoner on the other. The two sides exchanged threats. The consequence was that the 28s held a formal gang meeting in the early evening, wearing their full prison uniform, with caps on their heads, as was the custom of their court. They did this in full view of the other inhabitants of the cell and everyone knew that trouble was on the horizon. Their decision was evident from their subsequent conduct.
First they put on their pyjamas and went to bed. Some time after the rest of them had fallen asleep, Japhta came around to wake them up. They got dressed. Then, with Harris at the front, armed with a home-made knife, the eight accused went to Hendry’s bed at the opposite end of the cell. Harris pulled the blanket from Hendry who was lying face down. Harris then stabbed him in the lower back, just above the cleft of the buttocks. Hendry turned over and Harris stabbed him twice in quick succession in the upper chest below the left nipple. Hendry started squirming and Harris stabbed him a fourth time, at the top of the left shoulder blade. Hendry was in distress immediately because both stab wounds of the chest had penetrated his heart.
Then the gang turned their attention to other inmates. They beat up Leon Jacobs with a belt reinforced with a padlock. Michael Erasmus fled to the toilet. Harris stabbed him in the back as he went past. In the toilet Meiring, Michaels, Botha and Pienaar set upon Erasmus with their belts. Each belt had a padlock tied to the end. Erasmus shouted for help and the prison warders came to the window to see what was going on. Japhta told the others, ‘You haven’t finished your work,’ and pointed towards Leon Jacobs. The warders outside the cell heard this and sounded the siren for the officers to bring the key they needed to open the cell.
By the time the cell was eventually opened, Hendry was dead. The eight prisoners who were later to be charged with murder were standing to one side, dressed in their day uniforms, with their bedrolls neatly tied up and stacked. They had anticipated their removal from the cell.
After a messy trial in which no two witnesses other than the prison officials told the same story, the Court convicted seven of the accused of murder. The Court entertained a reasonable doubt whether accused number seven, Pieter Pienaar, had taken part in the killing or had committed any act in pursuance of a common purpose with the others, and acquitted him. Harris, Meiring and Swartbooi were further convicted of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Michael Erasmus. Swartbooi and Harris were convicted on a similar charge in respect of the assault on Leon Jacobs.
Cell murderers always get the death sentence. Over the years the Supreme Court in Cape Town had sent many of them to the gallows. The Judge could see no extenuating circumstances in respect of any of the accused. She imposed the death sentence on all seven. She also imposed prison sentences for the assaults, but they were soon to become of academic value only.
On 9 December 1987 the seven men went to the gallows together. They had spent a year and two months in the death cells.