Defence argues for leniency as sentencing hearing begins
Three men found guilty of killing Dumisani Phakathi face a potential life sentence after prosecutors urged the Pretoria High Court on Monday to impose the harshest punishment available, dismissing defence pleas for mercy as hollow and unconvincing.
Jaco Kemp (38), Louis Coetzee (38) and Gericke van der Westhuizen (41) appeared before Judge Mudunwazi Samuel Makamu for sentencing arguments. Their legal teams mounted individual bids to persuade the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment, citing personal circumstances and what they described as limited involvement in the crime.
Johann Wiehahn, representing Kemp, told the court his client should be treated as a first offender following the withdrawal of a previous drunk driving charge. He presented an extensive record of Kemp's achievements and argued the accused still had much to offer society.
"Due to his experiences, skills and relatively young age, Kemp can still make a significant contribution to society," Wiehahn submitted, appealing for clemency.
Wiehahn noted that Kemp had already spent more than two and a half years in custody since his 2023 arrest. He was behind the wheel of the bakkie on which Phakathi's body was discovered. Advocate Adrian Thompson, acting for Coetzee, maintained his client played no part in the physical assault and was only involved in an attempt to dispose of the body. Thompson pointed to Coetzee's eight-year marriage and three children as compelling reasons to depart from the minimum sentence.
Van der Westhuizen took the stand himself, speaking of his five-year-old son from a previous relationship and how he had financially supported relatives in Upington before his arrest. He expressed condolences to the Phakathi family and apologised for their loss, though he maintained he was not the person who delivered the fatal blows.
"I didn't think I would be in this position. I'm not the one who killed him," Van der Westhuizen testified. "I'm sorry because maybe I could have done more to help him. I'm just saying how I feel."
Prosecutor brands apology 'lip service' and demands maximum penalty
Public prosecutor Laurence More rejected the defence submissions outright and branded Van der Westhuizen's apology mere "lip service", noting that the accused continued to deny any involvement while simultaneously expressing regret. More also drew the court's attention to Van der Westhuizen's repeated failure to appear at earlier proceedings, which led to an arrest warrant and his eventual apprehension in Bloemfontein — conduct the state argued demonstrated an attempt to flee justice.
More contended that all three accused deserved life imprisonment for what he characterised as a horrific and premeditated murder. He emphasised that the trio had multiple opportunities to seek medical help for Phakathi or alert the authorities but chose not to, even after receiving a warning from a security officer. Neither Kemp nor Coetzee had ever expressed remorse, More argued, and all three had spent the duration of the trial pointing fingers at one another.
The court also received victim impact testimony from members of the Phakathi family. His cousin, Nonhlanhla Phakathi, described losing a man who consistently went out of his way for his extended family and said the manner of his death had shattered her trust in white people. She told the court the family remained in deep mourning.
"We were not happy with the way he left this world. His passing was extremely painful, because it was tragic and sudden and nothing could have prepared us for it. It would have been better if he had died in hospital after a long illness rather than taking him away from us so suddenly," Nonhlanhla testified.
Phakathi's daughter, Nomfundo Masondo, revealed she had been forced to leave her job owing to the psychological trauma. She explained that her father had been the family's sole breadwinner, caring for an elderly grandmother who can no longer walk independently, while her sister currently in matric is struggling to continue her studies. His brother, Xolani Justice Phakathi, described Dumisani as the person who held the family together, recalling how he would always arrive with a bag of cornmeal when food ran short. Judge Makamu postponed sentencing to Friday.
South Africans are closely watching this case as it touches on racial tensions, violent crime, and whether the justice system delivers meaningful accountability. The outcome could signal how courts handle cases where multiple defendants shift blame, potentially influencing public confidence in the legal system. For the Phakathi family, already bearing severe financial and emotional hardship, the sentencing on Friday will determine whether they feel justice has been served in a case that has drawn national attention.
