Pietermaritzburg -
A former security boss, who facilitated the murder of two Midlands farmworkers on the instructions of farmers, was on Tuesday found guilty in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Rudolph Struwig, 54, was convicted of murdering Simphiwe Ndlovu at St Ives stud farm near Howick on June 10, 2004, and of Mandla Masango, at Rathmor stud farm, on October 5, 2004.
During sentencing, Judge Igna Stretch wanted an explanation why the farmers - who had owned the farms at that time - had not been arrested.
She also asked where those farmers were at the moment.
State advocate Sandra Senekal said that one of them went overseas, then came back and was very ill.
She did not know much about the other.
She could not confirm the reason they were not arrested.
“I think the State did not have sufficient evidence,” Senekal said.
The judge remarked that she would order the prosecuting directorate to explain and indicate what they intended to do.
The evidence was that Struwig, who had owned the Mapogo A Mathamaga security company, had his employees kill the men.
State witness Lucky Mlangeni, who is serving two life terms after pleading guilty to the murders, told the court that Struwig told him the then owner of St Ives Farm was having problems with an employee, Ndlovu.
When they met the farm owner, he said that Ndlovu had killed the previous owner of the farm and might kill him.
Mlangeni and two other men killed Ndlovu and were paid R5 000 by Struwig.
Of the other murder, he said, the then owner of the Rathmor farm told him and Struwig that Masango had to be killed because he was selling liquor on the premises illegally and refused to leave the farm.
Mlangeni killed him and was paid R5 000 by Struwig.
Attorney Pauline Andrews argued, on Struwig’s behalf, that he was a site manager at a construction site in St Lucia, earning R25 000 and had his wife and her three children to support.
After his arrest he had lost his security companies and his first wife of 28 years
and his children did not want anything to do with him.
Calling for life sentences, Senekal said that Struwig had not shown remorse.
The men’s wives told the media they were struggling financially. They had lived on the farms with their families, but after the murders, Ndlovu’s wife, Octavia, was chased away while Masango’s, Betty Ziquba, had to move out.
Both wanted to be compensated.
Sentencing takes place on Thursday.
The Mercury