WORLD : Mrs. Mandela’s Ex-Bodyguard Sentenced to Death for Murder
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A South African court today sentenced Winnie Mandela’s former bodyguard to death for murdering a teen-age black activist.
Jerry Richardson, coach of the self-styled football club whose members served as bodyguards for the wife of black anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, was found guilty in May of murdering 14-year-old black activist Stompie Seipei in January, 1989.
Richardson was also convicted of kidnaping four youths, including Seipei.
The Rand Supreme Court in Johannesburg rejected defense evidence that Richardson, 37, was mentally retarded and depended on Winnie Mandela to the extent that he called her “Mommy” and craved her approval.
Transvaal province Atty. Gen. Klaus von Lieres has said that the outcome of Richardson’s trial would help him decide whether to charge Winnie Mandela.
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