Murder: Judge rejects white-racist conspiracy defence: two black men guilty of murdering Afrikaner Dawie Maree 28 in front of his family:

Two black killers who shot Afrikaner businessman Dawie Maree in the back -- ‘don’t deserve mercy’ "100 workers and families relied on Dawie Maree for their livelihood...' September 2 2014 By SAPA Pretoria businessman Dawie Maree's killers could not ask mercy from the court when they had shown no mercy to their victim, the State has argued in the High Court in Pretoria. Prosecutor Theo Moetaesi on Tuesday urged Judge Tshifiwa Maumela to sentence Lawyer Marabe Talane, 39, and Rodney Katang Masemola, 35, to life imprisonment for the May 2008 murder of Murrayfield businessman Dawie Maree. Maree, 27, was fatally wounded during a struggle with an armed assailant in his house, in front of his wife Elana and his two young children. He died after being shot in the back. Masemola was shot in the stomach and the pair's accomplice Seporo Martin Tshebesebe was shot dead during the attack. Maumela said during his earlier judgment it was not clear from the evidence who had shot whom, but it was clear that the shooting had been prompted by Masemola and Tshebesebe illegally entering the Maree property. No proof that the killers were 'framed by racist white policemen'... and his tiny wife didn't do it either... He rejected the men's claims that they had been framed for the murder by racist white policemen. Masemola's evidence that he and Tshebesebe were standing under a tree when Maree stormed out and shot them, whereafter Elana Maree emerged and fired a shot that killed her husband was also rejected. The court said it was improbable that Maree's tiny wife could have carried the bodies of two men to the bedroom. There was also no evidence of drag marks or blood outside the house. However, their lawyer, Paul Shapiro, on Tuesday still insisted that there was something “very odd” about the case and that the whole truth had not been revealed. It's apartheid's fault says defence lawyer: Shapiro argued that the court should take into account as mitigation that his clients had grown up under a system which treated them as inferior and gave them less opportunities. He said Talane had managed to get a diploma in business management and Masemola managed to train himself to some extent, even though he had pulled the short straw in life and never had a home or a family. ... Message that 'White people were no longer safe in South Africa: -- Maumela expressed concern a message might be sent out that white people in the country had to take extra safety measures " because if a black person attacked them the perpetrators would get off more lightly. -- He also expressed concern that it might send out a message that anyone who was white was no longer safe in South Africa. Maumela said everyone had suffered under the previous regime in different ways, including white people who could not go into certain areas or marry who they wanted. “... My sense is around the message that might be inadvertently sent that might encourage a certain attitude....That's not what we want. “Remembering the past should not encourage an atmosphere where certain people feel unsafe under the same system,” he said. Moetaesi said the past should not be used as an excuse to commit crimes and the court should not send out the message that certain people would be treated more leniently simply because of the past. He said Maree was brutally killed in front of his wife and children, who were still traumatised even today. “Life imprisonment is an apt sentence. We all choose our destiny. The accused chose to spend the rest of their lives behind prison doors,” he said. Moetaesi stressed that Maree had employed 100 people and that the accused had, by killing him, deprived them and their dependents of an income. The trial was postponed to November 24 for sentencing.Sapa http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/killers-don-t-deserve-mercy-1.1744914#.VAao8FfKGos ======================= Judge Tshifiwa Maumela rejected the defence by two black men accused of killing Dawie Maree that the businessman was killed by his wife: and he also rejected the defence by Advocate Paul Shapiro that 'white racist cops' had planted evidence and rearranged the crime scene. http://citizen.co.za/71464/court-rejects-claims-racist-conspiracy/ -------- Pretoria High Court summary: http://www.beeld.com/nuus/2013-10-17-hof-glo-nie-2-wat-s-man-se-vrou-skiet-hom Pretoria High Court judge Tsfiwa Maumela rejects defence claim that murdered Dawie Maree 's wife had shot her husband: judgment summary continues Judge Tsifiwa Maumela of the Pretoria High Court said in the summary of his judgment that he rejects the defence's claim that the murdered man's wife had killed the victim Dawie Maree. The accused men named Lawyer Talane and Rodney Katang Masemola claimed that Mrs Maree had "shot her husband and dragged him to their bedroom'. Mr Maree, 27, was shot dead on 23 May 2008 in his home in Meyerspark, Pretoria. The forensic evidence was that four bullets had penetrated his body. The bullet killing him had entered his back, went through his chest and exited his throat. He was declared dead upon arrival at hospital. The accused men also are charged with shooting one of their own comrades, Martin Tsebesebe, during the murder. Mr Maree's widow Elana has remarried since her husband's murder five years ago. Her legal name now is Elana van Breda. She was at the court with the Maree family to hear the judgment. Judge Maumela said that the State forensic evidence indicated that the shooting had taken place in the bedroom - whereas the accused claimed Mr Maree was shot under a tree outside by his wife. They also accused her of shooting dead Tsebesebe. The widow denied the accusations during her testimony and a fingerprint expert had also located Talana's fingerprint on a window-sill. Maumela: "The burglar bars in the house were broken and bent. It was clear that the house was broken into'. He said in his summary that it was clear that the shooting had taken place in the house and rejected the accused men's claims that Mr Maree had been shot dead outside."If Mrs van Breda had dragged both the shot men into the house, there would have been very distinctive drag marks and blood trails.' He said: 'one should also ask why (the widow) would have dragged the men inside. He also noted that 'the defendants had suggested that she could have carried the men into the house, or that she could have been helped by their neighbour Braam Espach. Judge Maumela rejected this too, saying 'if this was so, why would Espach and his father, who also showed up at the crime-scene, have called the police?" The judgment summary continues in the same court. http://www.beeld.com/nuus/2013-10-17-hof-glo-nie-2-wat-s-man-se-vrou-skiet-hom ------------- The High Court in Pretoria on Thursday rejected claims that mysterious 'racist white policemen' had framed two black men, convicted for the murder of Pretoria businessman Dawie Maree, 27 in May 2008. Nov 14 2013 - Pretoria High Court Judge Tshifiwa Maumela found lawyer Marabe Talane, 39, and Rodney Katang Masemola, 35, guilty of the May 2008 murders of Murrayfield businessman Dawie Maree and their accomplice Seporo Martin Tshebesebe. Mr Maree, 27, was fatally wounded during a struggle with an armed assailant in his house, in front of his wife Elana and his two young children. He died after being shot in the back. The bullet entered his chest and left through his throat. Masemola was shot in the stomach and Tshebesebe was shot dead during the attack. Mr Justice Maumela said it was 'not clear from the evidence who had shot who, but it was clear that the shooting had been prompted by Masemola and Tshebesebe illegally entering the Maree property." he said: "the accused knew someone might be hurt and die, including one of them and were criminally liable for both men’s deaths. "Masemola’s evidence that he and Tshebesebe were standing under a tree when Maree stormed out and shot them, whereafter Elana Maree emerged and fired a shot which killed her husband was also rejected. "Maumela said it was improbable that Maree’s wife, who had a small build, could have carried or dragged her injured husband and the body of Tshebesebe to the bedroom, where a neighbour found them shortly afterwards. There was no evidence of drag marks or blood outside the house. He rejected as "improbable the accused’s claim that white policemen had conspired against them and helped construct the scene'. He noted; " This theory entailed that the police would have had to carry a bolt cutter with them for months while waiting for Masemola to recover from his injuries so they could later plant it in his room"... -- Both accused were convicted on charges of housebreaking and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. -- Their advocate, Paul Shapiro, said his clients would apply for leave to appeal against their convictions. He argued that the two must be “the most stupid housebreakers in the history of South Africa” because they had broken open the house and the safe, but only walked away with a cellphone, a watch, and earrings. “I am not minimising the seriousness of the offence, but on the spectrum of offences there are much worse. There can be little doubt that the two accused qualify as the worst social outcasts and as marginalised people in our society,” he said. The trial was postponed to March 24 2014 for pre-sentencing reports. Maree’s wife Elana van Breda (she has since remarried) cried throughout Thursday’s proceedings. She said she felt relieved that her husband’s murderers had at last been convicted, but their wanting to appeal rubbed more salt into the wound. Sapa http://citizen.co.za/71464/court-rejects-claims-racist-conspiracy/