VUYO MKIZE
SHE WAS her family’s beloved last-born child. Quiet, kind and full of promise. The 27-year-old Patricia Motlaase had just been promoted at work and her family had great expectations for her.
But on October 18 last year, her life was taken by Nicholas Camphor, her sister’s ex-boyfriend.
Yesterday, Camphor, 40, was found guilty of her murder and of the attempted murders of his then girlfriend Matsidiso Gumede and her sister Lebohang Nchabeng.
Camphor had fired three shots at Gumede at her home in Mofolo, two of which penetrated her body, leaving her critically wounded. She had broken off their relationship over an SMS she had seen on his phone.
Camphor and Gumede had been in a relationship since 2009. Last year, she decided to end the relationship after finding out that he had impregnated his ex-girlfriend, Mathapelo Motlaase.
Camphor had testified that he had gone to Gumede’s house to talk to her, but when she ran from him when she noticed he was wielding a gun, he became angry.
Yesterday, Johannesburg High Court Judge Kathy Satchwell said: “Miss Gumede was most severely injured. I’m extremely surprised she survived. She was in the trauma unit for three weeks. At the time he left her house, he thought her to be dead. He also entered a plea of guilty to that offence and I do believe her testimony that he told her, ‘If I can’t have you – no one will’.”
Camphor drove to Motlaase’s home in Phiri after shooting Gumede and Nchabeng. He had planned to kill himself in front of her, but she was not at home. He spoke to her sister, Patricia, instead, and then fired four shots at her.
A post-mortem revealed that she had sustained three wounds in her upper body, while one bullet was found inside her ear.
During the proceedings yesterday, Camphor’s relatives sat on the far right of the court gallery benches while the Gumede and Motlaase families sat on the left, all listening pensively to Judge Satchwell.
“Throughout the evidence, I was most unimpressed by Camphor. He took no responsibility for his actions… he did not make a good impression in court. His testimony was extremely long-winded, he’d go on about how it was everybody else’s fault, how he was so aggrieved and that everyone else was to blame but him,” the judge said.
Camphor had testified that, as he was leaving Motlaase’s house and heading to his car, her brother Benjamin had come out of his cottage to ask what the problem was. A scuffle broke out after Patricia told him he had been there to kill himself in front of their sister.
Camphor also testified that he had “accidentally” fired the two shots that killed Motlaase.
Judge Satchwell rejected this, saying: “I find that he shot Patricia intentionally and deliberately.”
She said Benjamin had been a credible witness and had not exaggerated his evidence.
As Judge Satchwell found him guilty, Camphor’s eyes started blinking rapidly. He stood up slowly after she adjourned the matter until today, and turned to face his family.
Outside the court, Benjamin’s eyes were bloodshot. “I used to cry a lot. We were very close and she was such a good person. I don’t know what to say about this, because they can sentence him but my sister won’t come back.
“This has hurt our family. My sister Mathapelo had a stroke in February because she was hurting so much. I’m afraid to talk to our mother about it because I know how badly it has affected her,” he sighed.