NATIONAL NEWS - The Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced Lizo Madukane (38) and Thembelani Majola (36, to three terms of life and 15 years’ imprisonment for the three counts of murder, and robbery with aggravating circumstances they committed in December 2020 on a farm in the Bishopstowe area, on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg.
The deceased, Daniel Casper de Bruin (58), his wife, Glynis Coleen (60), and her father, Colin Schwegaman (87), lived on the property called Hoogelee Farm, where Daniel was a manager.
Madukane and Majola worked on the farm on a casual basis, as seasonal cane cutters and knew the deceased.
Before the incident, Daniel was wrapping up operations on the farm in preparation for the upcoming festive season.
According to the farm policy, only permanent workers received year-end bonuses. Madukane and Majola, being casual workers, were aggrieved about this and decided to execute their plan.
On the evening of the incident, they went to the farm and attacked all three deceased who died on the scene due to the extent of their injuries.
Their cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the head, neck, and front upper body. The men then stole cash, valuables, and a safe containing money and jewellery. They were arrested the next day.
Representing the state, deputy director of Public Prosecutions advocate Candy Kander led DNA evidence placing the men at the scene of the crime.
They further had the deceased’s blood on their clothing. Kander handed in victim impact statements facilitated by court preparation officer Mbali Komane and compiled by the deceased’s family members.
According to Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the regional spokesperson of the NPA, all the statements spoke of the undeserving brutality that the deceased would have suffered.
“The family said that there is now a void in their lives, and they were struggling to get over what happened. They said that the flashbacks of the crime scene are fixed in their memory. The men were sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for each of the three murders and 15 years’ imprisonment for the robbery,” she said.
The NPA welcomes the sentence and commends the work done by the prosecution and investigation teams.
“We hope that sentences of this nature will serve as a deterrent to like-minded individuals,” she concluded.
