The Thabazimbi Regional Court has sentenced 32-year-old Alfred Donaldson to 30 years’ direct imprisonment for the murder of his father and a related kidnapping. The sentencing was handed down on Monday, 29 September 2025.
The court heard that the tragic incident occurred on the afternoon of 26 July 2023, at the family’s home on Visarend Street in Amandelbult, located in the Northam Policing area.
According to evidence presented, the accused attacked his father, who had been resting after a night shift. The victim’s wife testified that Donaldson forced her into a room, locked her inside, and threatened to kill her husband. Upon managing to escape her confinement, she made the grim discovery of her husband lying on a bed with multiple stab wounds.
The victim was certified dead at the scene.
Further investigations revealed that the accused had stolen the victim’s Mitsubishi Triton bakkie and cellphone. A swift investigation led by Sergeant Thabiso Aubrey Seshoka of the Northam Crime Investigation Services (CIS) resulted in Donaldson being traced and arrested shortly thereafter in Koster.
The court found Alfred Donaldson guilty on both charges. The sentencing 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. In addition to the prison term, the accused was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
