Pretoria - Three farmworkers who received hefty jail terms for killing the farmer they worked for - and appealed against their sentences - have had them drastically reduced by the Pretoria High Court.
The court found the circuit court trial judge placed too much emphasis on the prevalence of farm murders. This did not prove to be a farm murder, but “a murder on a farm”.
Dumisani Zwane (sentenced to 20 years), Skhumbuza Ndaba (25 years) and Mbongeni Ndaba (25 years) earlier pleaded guilty to murder. They admitted to shooting their employer, Gert Rabe on his farm in Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga on June 18, 2009. The motive for the crime appeared to be a combination of resentment for the perceived unreasonableness and unfairness of Rabe towards his workers, anger over “relatively minor, but constant assaults” and “sexual humiliation”.
It was found the murder was not committed for financial gain, as a lot of valuable items were left behind in the home after the killing. After the murder, the men pushed Rabe’s vehicle, with his body inside, down a donga, threw away his firearm and dumped a hi-fi and CDs, which they had stolen, in the veld.
The court heard the three were “simple farm labourers with no education worth speaking of” and had at first tried to hide their deed, but later came clean to police.
The trial judge found in aggravation of sentence that “farmers were particularly vulnerable to attacks. By the nature of where they live they are relatively helpless, especially so when an attack comes from trusted staff. The impression must not be created that even if ill-treatment has occurred, such a murder is a minor offence…”
Judge Neil Tuchten, on appeal, said the judge had placed too much emphasis on the prevalence of murders on farmers in this division. “Such murders are generally committed for financial gain… The present was not such a farm murder.”
Zwane’s sentence was reduced to 12 years in jail while the other two now have to serve 15 years each.
Pretoria News