Long jail terms for pair who killed farmer
THE Pietermaritzburg High Court has handed down lengthy jail terms for two men convicted of the murder of a farmer in the Creighton area of KwaZulu-Natal.
This follows the 2018 attack of Pamela and Peter Scott on their farm on the outskirts of Creighton.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said Bethwell Sifiso Mthembu, 31, and Bhekizizwe Bheki Mchunu, 32, were sentenced after they were convicted of murder, housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery.
Ramkisson-Kara said Mthembu and Mchunu planned to rob the deceased and armed themselves with knives and a firearm.
“They forcefully entered the house, and fatally shot Peter Scott, while they securely bound his wife, Pamela,” she said.
According to Ramkisson-Kara the men ransacked the house, taking laptops, money and cellphones.
“They were arrested when the police followed up on leads. One of their co-accused, Moses Mthembu, who was also arrested, died during the trial,” she said.
Ramkisson-Kara said that during the sentencing proceedings, senior State advocate Roan du Preez handed in a Victim Impact Statement, compiled by Scott’s family members, and facilitated by Court Preparation Manager Roelien Wiesner. “The family mentioned that the incident had left them, friends and the community physically and emotionally traumatised,” she said.
Mthembu was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 5 years for housebreaking with intent to rob, 15 years for robbery, and 8 years for unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition (taken as one sentence, resulting in a life sentence and 28 years’ imprisonment).
Mchunu was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for housebreaking with intent to rob, 15 years for robbery and 30 years for murder.
Ramkisson-Kara said that in sentencing Mchunu, the court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment for murder.
She said the court took into consideration that he had spent four years in prison, awaiting trial. The court ordered that his sentences for robbery and housebreaking run concurrently with the 30 years for murder.