Pietermaritzburg – In a brief and unexpected moment of conciliation, the father of a man sentenced to life for murder, grasped the hand of the victim’s son and apologised in court.
Zamokuhle Maduna, 19, Siphesihle Ngubane, 20, and Lindokuhle Khoza, 18, were each handed three life sentences in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Wednesday.
Acting Judge Louis Barnard described the attack on Ekard Schutte, 76, his wife Elizabeth, 66, and their son Lutz, 33, as calculated and brutal.
Apology
After sentence was handed down, Ekard’s sons Stefan and Mathias Schutte and Zamokuhle’s father Joseph Maduna shook hands and Maduna apologised for his son’s terrible deeds as their families looked on.
Joseph Maduna told reporters afterwards that he had told the family he was sorry, but did not want to speak further on the incident or with regards to the sentence his son received.
After accepting the apology, Stefan Schutte said that while they had lost their family, Joseph Maduna had lost his son.
Reacting to the sentence, Schutte said: “It won’t bring back my family but we accept it. It’s hard to speak about closure at this time.”
Maduna admitted to brutally murdering the Schutte family on 1 March at Richmond.
Lutz had arrived at the family farm from Germany to celebrate his father’s birthday.
Maduna and his two co-accused were sentenced to life for each murder plus 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, as well as five years for possession of firearms and ammunition…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
