Two accused in Ameer Abrahams death make first court appearance

Ameer Abrahams

Cape Town — The two suspects accused of murdering five-year-old Ameer Abrahams made their first appearance in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Brandon Jansen and Iekraam Achilles appeared briefly in court on Friday, just hours before Ameer was set to be buried. The two men face four charges – two counts of attempted murder, one count of murder and one count of malicious property damage, eNCA reported.

During the court proceedings, the court heard that Ameer was shot in a gang-related incident where Jansen, a member of the Inglorious Bastards (IGB) gang, got into an altercation with the Hard Livings (HLs) rival gang, where he was assaulted. The conflict was believed to be about gang turf.

State prosecutor, Nuraan Toefy, said revealed that Jansen was assaulted before he had left for the IGB stronghold, where he was accompanied by co-accused, Achilles.

“(They) went to get a firearm and as they returned to Urban Street, where the incident occurred, Jansen saw one of the HL members who had assaulted him. He pulled out his firearm and fired nine shots towards the HL gang members. During this incident, a five-year-old boy (Ameer Abrahams) was shot in the back of his head,” Toefy said.

She said a 9mm bullet was retrieved from the boy’s head and he was declared brain dead.

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According to IOL, Provincial police commissioner, Thembisile Patekile attended the court proceedings and said Ameer’s murder was senseless.

“We were informed inside that before the shooting, there was an argument between these two and the other group. The two left and went to get guns in which an innocent child and two other people were shot. The child has subsequently, and unfortunately, passed on. We are going to ensure now that we are on the gangs and also on the grid, but we also appreciate what the community and especially the neighbourhood watches have done,” Patekile said.

“We want to ensure that everybody helps us to ensure that our children are safe. We want to continue getting the guns out of the community because those are the sources of these conflicts,” Patekile added.

“He was supposed to start Grade R this year. Can you imagine how his mother must feel? Sitting in court and facing those young men in court, it is sad to think what has come of our community and yes we can blame it on all kinds of social ills but those are just plain excuses. We need to keep these guys accountable,” said Adriaanse.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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