The two men who were found guilty last week of brutally murdering Mr. Huthie Bonnema (62) in the Levubu area, Vhembe District, Louis Trichardt Municipality, Limpopo, on Tuesday 18 October 2016, were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Thohoyandou High Court on Wednesday 19 June 2019.
Walter Maringa (32) and Khodani Tshishonga (25), were each sentenced to 25 years in prison for Bonnema’s murder, plus an additional 15 years of imprisonment for theft with aggravating circumstances. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Bonnema was stabbed to death on 18 October 2016, by Maringa and Tshishonga in front of his farmhouse on the farm Beaufort. His body was found by his eldest son, Hendrik, after investigating why his father did not let him know that he had arrived home safely. Earlier in the evening, Bonnema went to eat at his sister, Marina, and brother-in-law. All that was missing from Hennie’s body was his cellphone and bakkie keys.
Maringa and Tshishonga were arrested on November 4, 2016 by members of the Levubu police near Mashau. A residential area is not far from Bonnema’s farm. They initially pleaded not guilty to all charges against them.
The state attorney Nnyambeni Nekhambele said farm murders are not just a problem in Limpopo, but throughout South Africa. Nekhambele had asked the court to impose heavy sentences on the two men to act as a deterrent to people wishing to commit similar crimes.
During sentencing, Judge Frans Kgomo said that Maringa and Tshishonga’s actions amount to economic sabotage. He also said that Maringa and Tshishonga were harming their own people through their actions, as farmers in the Levubu area employ many people in the area. Kgomo also said farmers should be protected to prevent them from moving to other countries because they fear their lives.
Read about more farm attacks here
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Zoutpansburger
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