A Cape Town man who murdered three of his family members has been sentenced in the Parow Regional Court to 25 years’ direct imprisonment. 

Cevyn Kemp from Bishop Lavis pleaded guilty to all three counts of murder against him. 

Kemp killed his brother after they argued over the victim’s poor school results. He also killed his mother once she came back from work, and thereafter killed his aunt after she came looking for his mother and brother. 

In his plea explanation, Kemp confirmed that the murders took place at their home in Martin Lane on December 14, 2022. 

He stated he went to his brother’s room and confronted him about his bad school results after hearing he failed his examinations. 

Kemp said after he opened the door, he found his brother, Peter, smoking drugs and an argument ensued. He claimed Peter slapped him and started assaulting him. Kemp then picked up a brick the family used as a door stop and started hitting Peter with it on his head. 

Peter died due to blunt force trauma to the head. 

Later on the same day, his mother Elmoline Kemp, returned home from work and enquired about Peter. Kemp told her he left the house but the mother became restless. She went into Peter’s bedroom and found his lifeless body on the bed. Kemp claimed he panicked, picked up the same brick, and started beating his mother with it. 

Later, his aunt, Shireen Isaacs, came to the house looking for his mother. He lied and told her his mother and brother had left to visit someone in the area. She left but returned shortly after, stating she could not find them anywhere. She went into the house searching for them. Kemp claimed he panicked after Isaacs came across the two bodies, and he beat her with the same brick on the head as he did his other two victims. 

On December 15, 2022, Kemp visited a friend and disclosed that something had happened to his relatives. The friend and her father drove Kemp home, where they discovered the bodies of his murdered victims in the yard. 

Kemp was arrested and charged with murder. 

A psychologist interviewed him, and the court heard he initially stated he saw someone dragging the bodies out the back door, and he fled the house through the front door. However, it was put to him that the front door had been locked, and there would have been no way he would run out, lock the door, and then run away. The psychologist asked Kemp if he wanted to stick to his story or confess to what he did. He confessed. 

State prosecutor Earl Edward Koopman argued there were inconsistencies in Kemp’s account of what happened on the day. Koopman asked the court to impose life imprisonment, but the court found that there were substantial and compelling circumstances for it to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. This included that the accused wanted to plead guilty on his first day in court, he had expressed remorse, his age, and his personal circumstances.

The court sentenced him to 25 years’ direct imprisonment for each count of murder and ordered the sentences to run concurrently. It also declared him unfit to possess a firearm. 

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the sentencing. 

robin.francke@iol.co.za

IOL

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