The Thabazimbi Regional Court has handed down a 30-year direct imprisonment sentence to a 32-year-old man, Alfred Donaldson, for the murder of his father and a related kidnapping. The sentencing was delivered on Monday, 29 September 2025.
The court heard that the tragic incident occurred on the afternoon of 26 July 2023, at the family home on Visarend Street in Amandelbult, under the Northam Policing area. According to testimony from the victim’s wife, Donaldson attacked his father while he was resting after a night shift. The accused first forced his mother into a room, locked her inside, and threatened to kill her husband.
After managing to escape her confinement, the woman made a harrowing discovery: her husband, the victim, was lying on a bed with multiple stab wounds. Paramedics certified him dead at the scene.
Further investigations revealed that the victim’s Mitsubishi Triton bakkie and cellphone had been stolen. Through meticulous investigative work, Sergeant Thabiso Aubrey Seshoka of the Northam Crime Investigation Services (CIS) was able to trace the accused to Koster, where he was arrested shortly after the crime.
The court found Donaldson guilty on both charges. The sentence was structured as follows:
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Count 1: Murder – 30 years’ direct imprisonment.
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Count 2: Kidnapping – five years’ direct imprisonment.
The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently, meaning Donaldson will serve an effective 30 years in prison. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
