NPA
A security manager working near Uniform Farm in the district of Komatipoort was sentenced to life and an additional 38 years in prison for murder and three counts of attempted murder in the Mpumalanga High Court on Tuesday.
On 5 December 2018, four youngsters walked around the farm looking for temporary work since it was litchi harvesting time.
Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Monica Nyuswa says the security manager, Sarel Petrus du Plessis concluded they were trespassing as the deceased and his friends were persistent in the hopes of securing a job.
She says du Plessis thought that they were intending to steal litchi fruit and he followed them in his vehicle, took out his firearm and started firing shots.
Bhekimuzi Ziko, 18 was killed while his brother and two friends managed to flee the scene.
The NPA says du Plessis denied the allegations levelled against him and State Advocate Eugene Mathebula led evidence of the surviving victims who told the court about how the events unfolded on the day.
Nyuswa says during aggravation of the sentence the state argued that du Plessis abused his power as a security manager by killing a defenceless job seeker.
The Presiding Officer Judge Nelisa Phiwokazi Mali, highlighted that the sentence must serve as a deterrent to society.
Du Plessis was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 10 years imprisonment on each count of attempted murder, five years for unlicensed possession of a firearm and three years for possession of ammunition.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and he will effectively serve life imprisonment.
