‘Table Mountain terrorist’ trial set to kick off at Western Cape High Court

Blessing Bveni, the 36-year-old double murder and egregious robbery suspect, dubbed the “Table Mountain terrorist”, will appear in the Western High Court next week.

Who is Blessing Bveni?

As reported by IOL News, Bveni faces multiple charges which, if found guilty on all counts, could see him spend the rest of his days behind bars.

From what we know, Bveni is a foreign national who slid through the cracks of South Africa’s weakened Home Affairs security systems by seeking asylum with a fake passport.

Records show that the Table Mountain terrorist arrived in South Africa in 2017. Most refugees value Mzansi for the opportunities it holds.

However, Bveni had other sinister plans and it would not be long before he struck his first victim.

His reign of terror on Table Mountain trails

The motives behind his crime spree on the trails of the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) are at the centre of the trial. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the 36-year-old is an extreme danger to society due to the senseless nature of his crimes.

Bveni’s first known victim, a cyclist who was accosted on the Silvermine Bridge in October 2017, was fortunate enough to survive the attack. David Bucklow was kicked off his bicycle by the suspect but was agile enough to scurry away with nothing but a few scratches from the fall.

The state believes that failure only encouraged the accused to be more direct and aggressive with his following attacks. The second known incident occurred three months later, on 12 January 2018 in the Peer’s Cave area.

This time around, Bveni was able to scare two victims into giving up their valuables with a knife, Two weeks later, he would register his first known murder.

Every attack up until the murder of pilot Doug Notten was motivated by robbery. However, Notten’s wife, Julia, who survived the incident, claimed that Bveni never made any demands before he repeatedly stabbed Notten.

“He didn’t say a word. He just mumbled and made animal-like noises. He never asked us for valuables. I pleaded with him and said ‘we will give you whatever you want, please just leave us alone’, but he didn’t respond. He was a psychopathic monster who just wanted to kill,” she said.

In March 2018, Bveni attacked and murdered in cold blood another victim for his bicycle and cellphone, the 68-year-old Ian McPherson, in Fish Hoek, before he was caught.

The trial is set to kick off at the Western Cape High Court next week and with the fraud charges he faces for his illegal entry into South Africa packing at least 15 years imprisonment, Bveni could never see the light of day if the state convinces the judge that he is indeed the Table Mountain terrorist.