2 White S. Africa Police to Hang for Killing Black

Two white policemen were sentenced Thursday to hang for the murder of a young black man who was beaten and then shot through the head after drunken officers went on a “black-bashing expedition.”

They are the first white policemen in South Africa to face execution for crimes committed while on duty in a black township. Only six whites ever have been hanged here for killing blacks.

The pivotal testimony against Warrant Officer Leon de Villiers, 36, and Constable David Goosen, 26, came from other members of their 10-man riot unit who abandoned a cover-up attempt after being pressured by investigators.

Several officers testified that De Villiers, the unit leader, ordered Goosen to “take out” Mlungisi Stuurman, 18, because the youth had been beaten too severely to be set free. Stuurman was led to a river bank and shot in the back of the head on July 26, 1986, in the black section of Cradock, in eastern Cape province.

The non-jury trial took place in the Supreme Court at Grahamstown, near Cradock.

Goosen and De Villiers stood impassively as the sentence was read. Their wives and some court employees broke into tears.

No date was set for the execution.

Justice N.W. Zietsman convicted the two men Wednesday, agreeing with prosecutors that De Villiers had led his unit on a “black-bashing expedition,” in which residents were assaulted indiscriminately.

On Thursday, Zietsman rejected the mitigation arguments presented by the defense and also refused to grant permission for the defendants to appeal the sentence.

De Villiers’ lawyer, Chris Jansen, had said his client was of below average intelligence and was drunk at the time of the shooting.

Goosen testified that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because of repeated exposure to violence in black townships.