Sinaye Mposelwa, the individual responsible for the death of Ukrainian hiker Ivan Ivanov on the East Fort hiking trail along Chapman’s Peak on 27 July 2019, has been handed a 25-year prison term.
The verdict was reached on Monday, 7 August 2023, by the Western Cape High Court, which identified significant reasons to depart from the standard minimum sentences. These deviations include 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and life imprisonment for premeditated murder. The court ruled that the sentences would run concurrently.
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Following his arrest, Mposelwa admitted to the crimes and entered a guilty plea to charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
During his confession, Mposelwa disclosed that he and several other men were present at the East Fort hiking trail with the intention of robbing unsuspecting passersby. Ivanov resisted the robbery attempt, leading to a fatal altercation where he suffered 11 stab wounds to his chest and back before ultimately being robbed.
Eric Ntabazalila, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said Mposelwa was discovered with the belongings of the deceased and had blood-stained clothing that connected him to the crime through DNA evidence. He was also positively recognised in an identity parade.
As reported by News24, Mposelwa attributed his involvement in the fatal assault to his disrupted education, his mother’s struggles with alcoholism and the absence of his father, which led him to associate with the wrong group of individuals.
At the hearing for the sentencing, Mposelwa’s attorney drew on his personal history to portray him in a different light from that of a heartless murderer, aiming to present a more nuanced view to the judge.
Despite admitting to his participation in the murder, he remains unwilling to provide testimony against his fellow accused individuals, Matthew Giyo and Franklin Isaacs, hindering the State’s efforts to build a stronger case against them.
Referring to his client’s explanation as to why he won’t testify against his fellow accused, Defence Advocate Charles Simon said to the Western Cape High Court on Friday, 4 August 2023: ‘He said the 28s wanted to take the matter from a different angle.’
Simon said that his life would be in danger if Mposelwa testified against his co-accused or implicated them. Pleading guilty while the other two are facing trial was already a perilous step.
Instead, he requested that Judge Robert Henney take into account the four years Mposelwa had already spent in prison awaiting trial when making the decision regarding whether to stray from the mandated life sentence.
Henney faced a dilemma in reconciling the minimum sentencing prerequisites, posing the question, ‘How do you subtract four years from life?’
Simon contended that the trio’s initial plan for that day was to break into a house around Hout Bay, but when it was established they were unable to find a suitable property, they headed to the mountain and awaited a victim to rob. Simon said that the robbery was not initiated by Mposelwa.
Mposelwa expressed that he was drawn into it due to peer pressure, and he maintains that to this day, he struggles to believe his actions and feels profound remorse.
Simon said, ‘The accused could have run circles around the court.’
‘Not with me,’ remarked Henney.
To which Simon replied, ‘But he took this court in his confidence. He came clean; he wanted to testify. But he was under severe pressure by the 28s.’
According to Prosecutor Thamsanqa Kwetane, Ivanov had arrived in South Africa for training in the agriculture and fertiliser field, contributing to the growth of the economy. He left behind a wife and two children eagerly awaiting his return.
Kwetane urged Henney to impose a life imprisonment sentence.
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