North West police commissioner, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane on Tuesday, welcomed the hefty sentence meted to a father and son for killing an emerging farmer from Brits.
The 52-year-old Schalk Myburgh and his 29-year-old son Schalk Myburgh Jnr were sentenced at the High Court in Pretoria for the brutal murder of Rickson Morake Mavula.
Both were sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Mavula, a vegetable farmer in the Sandrift area, was murder on December 29, 2015.
Police spokesperson Colonel Adele Myburgh says it was revealed during court proceedings that at about 8 pm on the said day, Mavula, accompanied by his three children, drove his vehicle to look for one of his goats which drowned in the dam alongside Havana Road.
She says the Mavulas were busy rescuing their goat when two males approached them and blocked the way by parking their vehicle in front of the family's car. Mavula was then accused of theft of the goat and subsequently assaulted. It was during the assault that Mavula fell down on the ground. One of the accused, Schalk Myburgh Jnr got in the vehicle and drove over Mavula. The accused left Mavula motionless and went to the nearby farm where they related the story to the owner.
The pair went to Brits police station on December 30, 2015, where they reported that they were attacked by a group of approximately 10 people.
A preliminary investigation was conducted and revealed that the allegations were false. Consequently, the pair were arrested on Sunday, 10 January 2016 through the evidence provided by Mavula's 15-year-old son, who also witnessed the gruesome ordeal.
The duo was ultimately found guilty for murder by the North Gauteng High Court on Friday, 20 September 2019.
- African News Agency (ANA)
