Guilty of killing farmer

PROCEEDINGS in the Northern Cape High Court ended on an emotional note when a 32-year-old Griekwastad farmworker, Willem Olyn, was convicted of the murder of his 35-year-old employer, Willem van der Westhuizen.

Van der Westhuizen died on his farm Bont Heuwel after he was shot in the head with a rifle by Olyn.

Olyn was also found guilty on a charge of attempted murder after shooting Dion Barends in the groin on the same day as the murder.

Barends was transported to the Griekwastad Hospital but was transferred to the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley, where he had to undergo surgery.

He is currently receiving treatment for his injuries, while the bullet is still lodged in his groin.

Olyn refused to admit his previous convictions after Judge Mamosebo found him guilty on charges of murder, attempted murder, the pointing of a firearm, theft, negligent driving, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.

“The court has already unfairly charged and convicted me. I will not say anything further. The court can take whatever decision it wants. I do not think the court knows what fairness is,” Olyn said after the judge asked him to confirm his previous convictions.

Olyn was initially facing 13 charges, including murder, four counts of attempted murder, four counts of pointing a firearm, one charge of theft, one charge of reckless and negligent driving, one charge of unlawful possession of a firearm and one charge of unlawful possession of ammunition.

Absurd

Mamosebo described Olyn’s version of events as absurd and far from the truth.

“The deceased, accompanied by another person, returned from town in his Ford Ranger and they went to look for the accused. Upon finding the accused, the deceased asked him why he had not returned to work after taking a long lunch break. The accused was at the time in possession of a .22 rifle.

“The accused told the deceased that it was due to the heat. Van der Westhuizen and the other employee went back to the bakkie and the accused followed. The accused was still in possession of the rifle. The accused then stood by the passenger side of the vehicle and first pointed the rifle at the employee and then at the deceased.”

According to the judge, the accused then shot the deceased in the left side of the head. The deceased fell on top of the other employee.

The charges of pointing a firearm relate to an incident where Olyn pointed a firearm at a friend of the deceased who came looking for him shortly after the incident while, at the time of his arrest, he also pointed the rifle at a police officer.

“Gerhard Maritz said he had a meeting with the deceased on the day of the incident. Maritz said he went to the deceased’s farm after he did not meet him at the Groblershoop and Niekerkshoop crossing. The witness said that he had tried to contact the deceased telephonically, but that the latter did not answer the calls,” Mamosebo said.

“Maritz was at the time accompanied by his wife, their two-yearold child and another man. On their way to the farm they were stopped by one of Van der Westruizen’s employees who told them about the shooting.

“They drove to the farm where they found the accused, who appeared to be hiding something behind his back. When he pointed the firearm at Maritz, the latter drove away, shouting at his wife, child and the other occupant of the vehicle to get down. The accused followed them until they got to the main road,” she said.

She added that the State had proven that Olyn was indeed the person who pointed the firearm at Martiz and his family.

Olyn was not found guilty on a charge of attempted murder after he shot at a group of farmworkers who were sitting under a tree.

He was convicted on a charge of common assault after Mamosebo found that he had no intention to hurt the group.

“Only one shot was fired at the group of three men. That shot caused the men to flee. Given the fact that there were three people in close proximity of the accused, the shot could have hit anyone. A reasonable explanation as to why the accused did not hit anyone, is that this was done to intimidate and scare the men, not to kill them. I am convinced that the accused had no intention to kill the group,” she said.

On the charge of theft, she found that the accused’s reason for taking the deceased’s bakkie was in order for him to flee the scene.

“The defence argued that the accused heard gunshots and took the bakkie to flee to safety. The version of the State was that the accused took the bakkie and sped off at high-speed, whereafter the vehicle ended up on its side due to the reckless and negligent driving.

“The absurdity of the accused’s version of events is two-folded . . . he was dismissed from work by the deceased and he later heard gunshots being fired. The accused then saw the vehicle and decided to flee in the bakkie. He did not know where the shots were coming from. He later saw the police vehicles but did not stop because he was scared.

“If he was fleeing from the gunshots and saw police in the vicinity then there was nothing stopping him from asking the officers for help, unless he was fleeing from the police. The accused permanently destroyed the property of the deceased and is therefore guilty of theft,” she said.

Olyn was also convicted on a charge of attempted murder involving Barends.

The judge said Olyn had the intention to kill Barends when he shot him.

“Barends is currently receiving medical treatment for his injuries and the bullet is still lodged inside his private parts. The defence argued that Barends could not have known who shot him as his view was obstructed by trees. However, these are two men from a small town and they had known each other for years. The incident also took place in broad daylight.

“The bakkie that Olyn used to drive to Barends’ house was the same one found in his possession during his arrest. Judging from the nature of the injuries, it is clear the accused had the direct intention to kill Barends,” she said.

The case was postponed for sentencing.