Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

A SA Air Force sergeant was yesterday found guilty of murdering a Burundi teenager while serving as a VIP protector in that country.

The Thaba Tshwane military court also found Flippie Venter (35) guilty of assaulting a Burundi security guard and convicted him on a charge of non-attendance under the Military Act as he did not report back to his base before the curfew.

However, the court acquitted him on the rape charge and the claim that he had tried to bribe a Burundi taxi driver to lie about his whereabouts on the night of the murder.

Flown in from Bujumbura, Burundi, the victim’s aunt and uncle, Marie Jeanne Kamikazi and Jean-Paul Ndizeye, with whom the victim, Therese Nkeshimana, lived were satisfied with the judgment.

Venter earlier denied that he had raped and strangled Therese (14) on the night of September 19/20 2004 in Bujumbura.

It was alleged that he also assaulted a hotel security guard that night after the man refused to give Venter and the girl a room.

Taxi driver Claude Damacene claimed that he was the last to see Venter and Therese together, and that the accused allegedly tried to bribe him a few days later not to tell the police.

Yesterday military judge Colonel Johan Crouse said on that night the normal curfew of 9pm was extended to 11pm due to a social event in Bujumbura.

“The accused knew the curfew was a standing order. Witnesses said he was not back at the base before 4.20am.

“If he did not hear about the extended time, he would have been back by 9pm,” Crouse said.

The witnesses who were with Venter that night left by 10pm. Venter did not want to leave with them and obviously had no intention of returning to the base on time, Crouse said.

Referring to the other charges, Crouse said it was all part of a series of events.

Venter was looking for a sex worker. Damacene took him to a club and from there the two men left with Therese looking for a hotel.

Damacene and the security guard, in their evidence, corroborated each other regarding Venter’s attack on the guard.

The court found Venter’s admission to two SANDF officers that he had strangled Therese that night after she refused to have sex with him was admissible. Venter knew his rights before he spilled the beans, the court ruled.

“The accused walked with the victim in the direction where she was later found dead.

“When a person is strangled, she first loses consciousness before dying.

“The accused must have known he was cutting off the girl’s airways, therefore having the intent to kill her,” the court found.

Venter was acquitted on the rape charge. Although he admitted to “forcing” the girl into a sexual act, it did not prove that penetration occurred, it was found.

Acting prosecutor Lieutenant-Colonel Rikus Slabbert said after judgment that Venter had completed 14 years of military service. His current military duty would “expire” on August 31 this year.

Although there were no previous military offences against Venter, Slabbert asked the court to take into account that Venter was currently serving a 10-year sentence for the murder of his two children in April last year.

Sentence proceedings will continue on August 27.