Nkosana ka Makaula
Nelspruit - A former farm worker who stabbed, gagged and hacked his boss on the head before dumping him in a chest freezer where he died says: "I did not know that someone was going to be killed."
Bethuel Nyalunga, in a last-ditch attempt to convince the Nelspruit circuit of Pretoria High Court of his innocence, said: "All I knew was that there was money in that house and we were just to break in, take it, then leave."
Nyalunga, 21, of Clau-Clau near White River, blamed his two co-accused for the murder.
He said Bheki Oupa Magagula, 20, of Salubindza near Hazyview, and another man, Mmusho Mashile, who is still at large, beat up Tobias Johannes de Clerq at In Die Middel farm in Schoemanskloof outside Nelspruit, Mpumalanga.
The two men were sentenced to life in prison for murder, 20 years' each for housebreaking with the intent to rob and aggravated robbery, and four years' each for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The sentences will run concurrently.
Robbed of guns, cellphone and cash
Magagula's sister, Busi Magagula, burst into tears. Her sobs were the only sound in the hushed courtroom.
He said he'd been searching the house for money at the time and when he returned to the kitchen, he was told the farmer had been dumped in the freezer.
De Clerq was attacked about 22:00 on New Year's Eve on December 31 2003 and was robbed of a revolver, a shotgun, ammunition, a cellphone and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Judge Roger Claasens found Nyalunga had contradicted his earlier statement to the police, in which he admitted he'd taken an active part in killing the farmer.
"Your attempt at removing yourself from the actual murder, and the attempt to minimise your role in this crime, removes any inclination this court might have had towards seeing you as being remorseful," said the judge.
Was bleeding badly
De Clerq's frozen body was discovered on New Year's Day when his domestic worker, Rose Aniya Mhlakwana, realised there'd been a break-in and called neighbours.
Police found De Clerq's frozen body in the freezer.
The judge said when he passed sentence: "You put him in there when he was bleeding from the nostrils and mouth, with a rag tied tightly around his mouth.
"You knew you were killing him. He had no chance of surviving this ordeal."
- African Eye
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