Baby killers’ parole shock
|Published
SLAIN: Baby Jordan-Leigh Norton
Two of the men convicted for the murder of six-month-old baby Jordan-Leigh Norton have been granted parole and have been free for years already.
The Weekend Argus reports that Zanethemba Gwada was released on parole on 27 January 2017, while Bonginkosi Sigenu was set free on 15 February 2018, serving just over 13 years behind bars for the murder that shocked the world.
Candice van Reenen, Western Cape spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services, confirmed the men were granted parole but added that they had undergone a “strict programme” to be ready for social reintegration.
“The process of parole consideration is initiated by the Case Management Committee when an inmate has served the minimum required time.
“A decision is then taken by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board.
“It is important to note that an inmate must satisfy all the requirements for parole placement and be ready for social reintegration.
“This draws largely from the correctional sentence plan compliance and reports from specialists, such as criminologists, social workers and psychologists.
“Bonginkosi Sigenu was released on parole on 15 February 2018, and Zanethemba Gwada was released on parole on 27 January 2017.”
Vernon Norton, baby Jordan-Leigh’s grandfather, told Weekend Argus the family had made a joint decision not to comment, while Natasha Norton, the baby’s mother, did not respond to requests for comment.
In 2016, when the duo made their bid for parole, which was denied, Natasha commended the parole board for their decision to keep her baby’s killers behind bars.
She did not attend proceedings at the time.
The mastermind behind the baby’s murder was Dina Rodrigues.
Rodrigues, Gwada and Sigenu and their co-accused, Sipho Mfazwe and Mongezi Bobotyane, were all convicted of the heinous murder.
Little Jordan-Leigh was murdered at her home in Lansdowne on 15 June 2005.
Rodrigues had hired the men, who pretended to be from a courier company delivering a parcel in order to gain access to the house.
She had offered the men R10 000 to kill the infant who was stabbed in the neck.
Rodrigues had been dating Neil Wilson, Jordan-Leigh’s biological father, but became angry when she heard about his child with Natasha and could not accept this.
She confessed to hiring hitmen to kill the baby.
Rodrigues, Mfazwe and Bobotyane were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Gwada and Sigenu received 15 years each for the murder and robbery.
The Department of Correctional Services confirmed Rodrigues, who is doing time at Breede Valley jail, now has a degree in Education, and would only be considered for parole once she completed her minimum sentence.
They did not specify when this would be.
Sigenu, who was 16 at the time of the murder, pleaded guilty two years later after his mother encouraged him to tell the truth.
He said he was told to take the baby from her nanny and to strangle the child in a room.
He said Jordan-Leigh had begun to cry and that it had reminded him of his brother who was also little.
He said Bobotyane put his finger in the baby’s mouth and cut her throat.
Weekend Argus