Two of the five found guilty of the murder of 6 month-old baby Jordan Leigh Norton have lodged applications for parole, 10 years into their respective 15 year jail terms. Zanethemba Gwade and Bonginkose Singenu were both implicated in the June 2005 murder of baby Jordan at her home in Lansdowne.

Co-accused Sipho Mfazwe and Mongenzi Bobotyane, as well as mastermind, Dina Rodrigues were all given life sentences during a much publicised trial.

A campaign has since sprung up via social media site Facebook, opposing the duo’s parole bid. The page has so far garnered an overwhelming 111 000 views, with more than 12 000 people having already engaged the campaign.

Baby Jordan’s grandfather, Vernon Norton said her death remained in the back of people’s minds nearly a decade after the murder, although most within the community were generous enough to provide the family with the space needed to come to terms with their loss.

“You can never forget such a tragic incident especially if it happens to your family and those loved ones close to you,” he told VOC Breakfast Beat on Wednesday.

The lesser sentences afforded to Gwade and Singenu raised some eyebrows at the time, but Norton suspected the judge may well have taken into consideration the age of the accused, at the time still minors, before showing some measure of leniency.

The family were however determined to ensure that some justice was given to baby Jordan, by ensuring that the culprits served the full length of their respective prison terms. He said they also had a responsibility to the public at large, to ensure that such terrible acts not go unpunished.

“Before people even consider taking money for committing such heinous crimes, they should think twice about the consequences, and shouldn’t get off so easily,” he said.

The campaign itself was established by a friend of Jordan’s mother, Natasha. Describing the response as ‘absolutely phenomenal’, Norton said they were able to gauge the overall feeling amongst the public was in relation to the parole application.

“You can imagine that there is quite an outcry from the public at large, and I think people are very upset…it takes so long for a judge and his colleagues to reach a conclusion, and we spend so much of our hard earned taxpayer’s money to look after these guys in a prison. Then in an hour or two a decision is made to release them,” he said, expressing frustration at how easy it was for convicted criminals and murderers to be released.

The public is urged to submit in writing to babyjordanmail@gmail.comand give reasons on why they believe the killers should be denied parole. That information will be presented during the parole process.

The hearing is set for the 17th June. VOC (Mubeen Banderker)