Durban – The country was in an uproar about the murder of farmers who were the most vulnerable people in South Africa, Durban High Court Judge Shyam Gyanda said on Thursday.
They were threatened all the time because they lived far from the police and protection, he said, adding farmers were also leaving the country in their droves – and food supply was going down as a result.
This, the judge said, had affected the whole country.
The worst crimes were when criminals invaded people’s homes and robbed and murdered them, he said, adding that “a man’s home is his castle” and that people had to spend thousands on security.
In the area where he lived, there were boom gates and foot patrols, which all cost a lot of money, Judge Gyanda said.
And criminal acts affected the economy with insurance premiums increasing.
“In fact, we live in prison while the crooks walk free.”
The judge was listening to argument in mitigation of sentence of three men – Scelo Meshack Matabane, 31, Siyabonga Innocent Xaba, 24, and Khulekani Wonderboy Mathonsi, 33 – whom he had found guilty of murdering John Noble, 72, and his wife of 50 years, Hester, 68, at their smallholding in Shongweni, in November last year.
The trio were also found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Noble was assaulted, bound and gagged and was found with wire and a sticky bandage around his mouth.
He was attacked in his garage after the gang lay in wait for him and he died from head injuries.
His wife, an emphysema patient who depended on bottled oxygen, was found strangled in her bedroom with her own oxygen tubing…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
