The accused cop from Piketberg has denied that he planned the murder of his girlfriend after allegedly “hunting” her down in the town’s streets and shooting her in front of her family.
This was revealed at the Western Cape High Court on Friday as Richard ‘Makka’ Smit finally appeared in the dock amid ongoing issues with the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
The former sergeant faces several charges for the murder of Natasha Lee-Grey Booise, who was gunned down on January 2, 2022 after she had allegedly been stalked by Makka.
Her family claimed that he was kwaad that she had spent the day with relatives from Paarl.
Her murder sparked an uproar when it was revealed that he shot her with his service pistol while off duty. CCTV footage of the shooting was subsequently shared on social media.
According to the indictment, he faces six charges which include murder, assault, attempted murder, pointing of a firearm, driving while drunk and using his gun while being gesuip.
After various delays in the pretrials, as officials had on several occasions failed to bring Makka from Goodwood Prison where he was being held, he arrived at court on Friday and appeared before judge Daniel Thulare.
The State prosecutor told the court that while Makka intended on pleading guilty to the charges he was contesting that Natasha’s murder was premeditated.
The prosecutor explained the State won’t budge and the matter will go to trial on August 28, where they will lead evidence in their bid to prove the murder was planned.
Billy Claasen of the Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation says: “We are pleased to hear he will plead guilty. We are of the view that it was premeditated because he was hunting for her, he was looking for her that day everywhere in town. We will only be pleased with a life sentence for him because he must answer for his deeds.”