Ottosdal farm killers get life in jail
Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing North West farmer Andre van der Merwe and dragging him behind his bakkie, police said on Thursday.
In addition to the life sentences Thabo Matlhoko, 25, and Shadrack Smith, 29, were given 20 years each for robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, by the Mmabatho High Court on Monday, spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.
"On 30 April 2011 three suspects went to Driekuil farm of Mr Andre van der Merwe in Ottosdal to commit a very gruesome crime which left the farmer dead."
Matlhoko, Smith and a third man were arrested in Ottosdal the next day. The third man was acquitted on all counts.
Van der Merwe was shot four times; according to reports, twice in the back, behind the left ear, and in the cheek.
"Oom Andre had an open heart and he was good to everyone, black and white. We hope and believe he was not conscious when he was dragged behind the bakkie," Van der Merwe's friend Frans Hugo, who discovered the body after the murder.
He was tied to his bakkie and dragged for about two kilometres. His killers hid his body in a maize field before stealing the bakkie.
"Lieutenant General Zukiswa Mbombo... said this sends a strong message to perpetrators of crime that they should respect other people's right to life," said Ngubane.
- Sapa