DOUBLE LIFE SENTENCE AND 21 YEARS FOR FARM MURDERERS
LUTENDO LIVHEBE – MUDAU. The Pietermaritzburg High Court has sentenced Doctor Fikane Ngwenya and Sibongiseni Madondo, to life and 21 years imprisonment each, following their conviction on charges of housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, robbery with aggravating circumstances and two counts of murder, wherein an elderly couple, Glen, and Vida Rafferty, were killed on their farm in Normandien in the Newcastle area. Their co-accused, Siyabonga Macu, was killed before him giving evidence in the trial.
In August 2020, the men (armed with firearms) broke into the Rafferty’s home while they were out visiting friends. The men stole cellphones, jewellery, a laptop computer, a computer screen, and a DVD recorder. They tried to break into the safes in the house but were unable to do so. They then decided to wait for the couple to return, with the intent of having them open the safes. On their return, the Rafferty’s were accosted by the men and a physical confrontation ensued. Both Glen and Vida were shot multiple times and died at the scene. The men also shot Rafferty’s pet dog. Following this, they loaded the stolen items into Rafferty’s car and drove off. They were arrested after a month and a year, respectively.
In court, the state represented by Senior State Adv. Attie Truter led evidence identifying them as the perpetrators. In aggravation of sentence. Truter led the testimony of Rafferty’s son who told the court about the day he found his parent’s bodies. He said that he worked on the farm with them but had to sell the farm following their deaths as it was too painful to live on the property. Ngwenya and Madondo were sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for housebreaking, 15 years imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances and life imprisonment for each of the murders. They were also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence and commends the work done by the Prosecution and Investigation teams. We hope that sentences of this nature will serve as a deterrent to like-minded individuals.
