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Two men were sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for the 2016 murder of a 77-year-old farmer in Paulpietersburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
According to KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Nqobile Gwala, 30-year-old Sthembiso Domoyi Shoba and Sabelo Abel Shoba, 29, were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
Shoba was also sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder and 15 years for robbery, while his co-accused was sentenced to 15 years for attempted murder and robbery.
A third suspect remains at large.
According to Gwala, on May 13, 2016, 77-year-old pensioner Frieder Johannes Filter was with his family at Brainsweight farm when the armed men – carrying guns and knives – approached him.
Filter was shot dead, while a farm worker was shot in both of his legs. The men took the farm worker’s cellphone, but nothing was stolen from the house.
According to statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele in May, since 2012 there have been 3 059 attacks reported to police, averaging 510 attacks a year, in which 338 people – roughly 56 a year – were killed.
The figures showed that over the six-year period, the North West province had the highest number of attacks, at 722, followed by Gauteng with 644.
