Mooi Rivier - The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday convicted a man of the murder of a Mooi Rivier farmer's wife, helper, and gardener.
Mzwandile Magubane was a member of a gang that started a fire to draw people from the farmhouse in July 2010.
He was found guilty of murdering Lorraine Karg, Hilda Linyane, and Shayi Mhlongo.
Acting Judge Muzi Ncube found Magubane's palm print inside the Karg house, the family's TV remotes were found in Magubane's room, and he pointed out crime scenes to a police officer.
Karg's daughter Khita Olson told the court her father Neville and brother Brandon were so traumatised that they were considering moving to the Congo to farm maize.
Another member of the gang, Nhlanhla Dladla, who admitted complicity in the crimes, was granted indemnity after he turned State witness. But Dladla then refused to testify and walked away a free man because the charges against him were withdrawn. He was re-arrested for unlawful possession of a semi-automatic weapon.
During the trial the court heard that between 2001 and May 2012, 111 people were killed in 982 incidents on farms in KwaZulu-Natal.
Magubane would be sentenced on Friday. - Sapa