By Estelle Ellis
Ceres farmworker Johnny Jooste was sentenced to serve 38 years in jail by the Cape High Court on Thursday for the massacre of seven relatives: his wife, his two children, three sisters-in-law and his brother-in-law.
His sentence, handed down by Mr Justice Siraj Desai, is made up of:
- Twenty years' imprisonment for the murder of his wife.
- Twenty years for each of the six other killings, of which in each case 17 years will run concurrently, together with the first 20- year sentence.
- In addition, he will serve the remaining three years of each sentence - a total of 18 years.
Jooste pleaded guilty to the seven charges.
He told the court the massacre was sparked by constant taunts by his in-laws and their interference in his marriage.
"On February 20 last year at Ou Muur Farm, Koue Bokkeveld, in Ceres, I killed my wife Lena, my baby Sanjay, my son Blake and my three sisters-in-law, Janetta Jacobs, Cornelia Visagie and Sophia Swarts, and my brother-in-law Barend Swarts," he said in a
confession to the court.
"At the time my wife and I had problems in our marriage. Her family interfered constantly. We had been married for 10 years and my family in law constantly said that I was not good enough for my wife. They insulted me all the time and called me a 'kaffir' because my skin is dark. I did not plan to shoot them."
He could not explain to the court why he had done it.