After five years of grief, the families of two men who were tortured to death by a farm owner and his security guards, are close to getting justice.
Sfiso Thwala and Musa Nene were kicked in the head repeatedly, lashed with a sjambok and electrocuted with a cattle prod until they died.
Their friend, Sthembiso Thwala, barely survived the assault and lives with the physical and emotional scars of that day.
The men who assaulted them allegedly tried to justify the murder by saying they were cattle thieves.
In addition, the farm owner allegedly told the security guards not to mention to the police that he and his son were part of the assault as they are “white”.
Eight men, including the farm owner, are currently on trial at the Middelburg High Court for the murders.
They are Zenzele Yende, Werner Potgieter, Moses Dlamini, Elliot Dlamini, Cornelius Greyling, Skhumbuzo Nhlabathi, Mzwakhe Dlamini and Sthembiso Thwala.
Each is charged with two counts of murder, one of attempted murder, one of kidnapping and one of defeating the ends of justice.
The beginning; the stuck car
On the evening of the 9th of August 2020, Musa and Sfiso along with their friend, Sthembiso Thwala were travelling to Driefontein, Mpumalanga.
The men were travelling to send groceries and money to Sthembiso’s mother who had just assumed care of his children.
On the way, the Toyota sedan they were travelling in got stuck on a public road, about 10-kilometres from their intended destination.
The road was near several farms where cattle theft had been an issue.
Security guards from Bampoen farm (also known as Pampoenkraal farm), who were doing night patrol around the farms approached the men in the stationary car.
One of the state witnesses told the court they initially thought they were cattle thieves.
“They accosted all the three passengers in the car and severely assaulted them for being on the road near the farm,” the court indictment read.
“They collected two sheep and put (the men) into the boot of their car and drove them into Bampoen Fam and assaulted them further until two succumbed to their death.”
The cause of death for Musa and Sfiso is listed as “subdural haemorrhage” where blood vessels inside the brain burst due to head injury.
The Testimony
Mthokozisi Vilakazi is a former security guard at Bampoen farm. He was on night patrol on the evening of the incident.
He was one of three former Bampoen security guards from that day who have turned state witnesses.
Vilakazi testified about how they beat up the three men because they were in a “suspicious” car.
He said after kicking them, one of the security guards got a sjambok from their car.
“He was beating them using thick side of the sjambok, so he was holding it the wrong way,” said Vilakazi.
Vilakazi said pliers and two cattle prodders were brought to torture the three men.
He said the torture lasted for hours, going from around 9pm at night to just over midnight.
Vilakazi said by the time they stopped, all the three men could not walk by themselves.
He said a plan was devised there to plant two sheep in the car and paint them as cattle thieves who tried to fight back when caught.
Vilakazi said they transported the men back to the Bampoen farm with their car and the planted sheep.
“We were told to clean them up, so they look beautiful for the police,” said Vilakazi.
He said the men were stripped and hosed down with water and applied with Vaseline (petroleum jelly).
Vilakazi told the court by 2am they placed the injured men back into their car and four security guards were asked to look after them until the police came in the morning to fetch them.
Thabiso Goba
www.ewn.co.za
