Durban - The family of murdered Newcastle farmer Timothy John Green got the closure they needed on Tuesday when his two killers, one a trusted employee, were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Green’s sister, Connie McCamile, said the family was ecstatic about the sentence.
“We can put Tim to peace.”
Green, 44, manager of the Shanduka coal mine near Newcastle, who also farmed cattle in his spare time, lived on the farm alone.
McCamile said their mother, Constance, 78, was terribly affected by his death at Willowford Farm in October 2013.
On that day, Siyabonga Mhlungu, 29, and Mfanukhona Masiteng, 25, (who were sentenced on Tuesday) along with Thulani Kubheka, who is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty, went to the farm to steal.
Green was away and they broke into his house and took what they wanted, including his firearm. When he arrived, they shot him in the leg and head with his own gun.
Mhlungu, who still denies taking part in the crime, and Masiteng both pleaded not guilty. However, in mitigation of sentence, Masiteng admitted killing his boss.
He said: “We were going there to commit a robbery, not a murder. Nevertheless, a death occurred. I don’t know what had got into me.”
Masiteng also said Green was good to him and had been a “father figure”. He often used to take water to Masiteng’s home and his child to the clinic.
State prosecutor Ruan du Preez led the evidence of Koos Marais from the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union’s security desk, and submitted several victim impact statements in aggravation of sentence.
Judge Jerome Mnguni said Marais’s testimony seemed to suggest that farm attacks were becoming a regular occurrence, especially in the province. He said from 2001 to date there were 130 murders and 813 incidents reported on farms.
Marais also spoke about why farmers were seen as soft targets.
The effects of Green’s murder were highlighted in the statements. The judge read paragraphs of what struck him from three of them.
Constance Green said her world and sanity ended when her son, the youngest of nine children, was killed. She spent weeks crying and could not believe what had happened.
The judge also sentenced the men to five years for housebreaking with intent to steal, 15 years for aggravated robbery and 10 for being in possession of an unlawful firearm and ammunition.
The Mercury