A loud clapping of hands from friends and family of a member of the Concerned Tshwane Residence broke out after prominent Laudium businessman Muhamed Sajid Khan was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment yesterday.
Khan, 46, shot and killed Mamelodi businessman and activist Kabelo Matlala and bystander Avela Mbewu on February 1, 2020. On that day, members of the organisation went to one of Khan's properties in Luttig Street, Pretoria West, to verify whether he was the registered owner of the property.
While Khan said he fired shots that day in self-defence, Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, Judge Papi Mosopa found that the shooting was premeditated.
The judge said when Khan received a call earlier that day that there was a group gathered at his Pretoria West property, he had his firearm ready and by his side when he stopped at the premises in his black Lexus car.
Khan was earlier convicted on two counts of murder and one of attempted murder. It is claimed that apart from killing the two deceased, he also fired various shots at Oriel Mopane, who was with the group on Khan’s premises.
The court heard that both Mtlala and Mbewu sustained several shots to their upper bodies and both died on the scene. Judge Mosopa commented that Mopane could count himself lucky that he got away, as Khan fired several shots at Mopane while the latter ran away amid the hail of bullets.
Khan’s version of the events was that on the day of the incident, he received an anonymous phone call that he had to go to his Luttig Street property.
He said when he got there, he saw a group of people, including the two deceased, there. He said he knew they were members of the organisation whose aim was to “rid Pretoria from foreign ownership of property by unfair means”.
According to him, he was part of an application launched in court in 2019 to obtain an interdict against the group, which was hijacking foreign-owned property, including some of his properties.
Khan, a Pakistani national, is a naturalised South African citizen after living in the country for many years.
He said that on the day of the incident the group demanded the title deeds to this property from him. According to him, they were aggressive, and he noted that some of them had firearms with them, which were covered by their trousers and shirts.
He said after stopping at his property, he tried to close the gate to the property, but he could not as he was pushed by the crowd and stumbled backwards.
Khan explained that, as he feared for his life, he fired several shots. According to him, he did not act unlawfully and only tried to defend his life.
However, members of the organisation who were there that day testified that they did not carry guns and that Khan was the aggressor. They said he simply started shooting at them.
Video footage of what transpired before the shooting showed that Khan was aggressive and shouted at the group. The actual shooting, however, was not on the video recording.
Judge Mosopa questioned why Khan did not seek the help of the police prior to going to the property. He also said the fact that he had his firearm ready and with him showed that he had the intention to shoot at the group.
Two days after the incident, Khan handed himself over to the police and was released on R10 000 bail.
Various witnesses testified in mitigation on his behalf and told the court that he was a kind-hearted man who ran soup kitchens for the poor and handed out blankets and food to them.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, he also donated 1 000 oxi-meters.
It was said that the father of five was a successful businessman who always opened his heart to others.
Judge Mosopa said he accepted that Khan was a humble person, but he was clearly violent on that day.
“As a humble person, he should have restrained himself,” the judge said.
The defence, meanwhile, said it would apply for leave to appeal the conviction and sentence.
Pretoria News