Cape Town - A convicted gang member has been sentenced to 55 years’ imprisonment after he was found guilty of a murder that he claimed he committed under the instruction of Nafiz Modack.
Abongile Nqodi, 35, was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment for murder with five years suspended, 10 years for the illegal possession of a firearm, 10 years for the illegal possession of ammunition, five years for participating in the activities of a gang, and five years for conspiracy to commit murder. The sentences will run concurrently.
He entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the State, stating he belonged to the “Terrible West Siders”, a gang operating in Woodstock, Elsies River and Heideveld.
On July 9, 2019, he drove to an address in Melkbosstrand with the intent to kill former Hawks detective Nico Heerschap, and named Riyaat Gesant, Fagmeed Kelly and Mario Petersen as accomplices in the hit.
NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “At the address, they saw a white male reversing out of the yard in a bakkie. He and Gesant, the back-up shooter, went up to the reversing vehicle and shot the driver twice in the head.
“The deceased was the father of Warrant Officer Nico Heerschap, Nicolaas Paulus Heerschap. At the time Warrant Officer Nico Heerschap was investigating Modack.”
Nqodi claimed he executed the hit on instructions from Toufiq Brown and Modack. They were paid R25 000 for the assassination, split five ways. He further claimed that he subsequently met Modack, who congratulated him on a job well done and told him not to worry about legal fees if he got caught.
Advocate Adenaan Gelderblom in his argument for aggravation of sentence said: “Several law enforcement officers and members of the judiciary have become the targets of criminal attacks for doing their legal duties.
“He has agreed to confess against other gang members involved in the murder of Nicolaas Paulus Heerschap. He will also testify as a State witness in the case of the murder of a tow truck driver, the attempted murder of André Naude and the conspiracy to kill Cape Town lawyer William Booth, to which crimes he has already confessed.
“The State takes cognisance that its case would have been faced with challenges without the voluntary co-operation of the accused,” he said.