JUSTICE prevailed when two men, Simphiwe Michael Sosibo (38) and Mvuseni David Mchunu (47) were sentenced to life and 15 years imprisonment in the Durban High Court on Friday, 1 July after being convicted of a brutal housebreaking, robbery and murder.
The crime took place in April 2013 in the Waterfall area where the accused, armed with a firearm, broke into Jacques and Samantha Oosthuizen’s Braeside home, The family were asleep at the time.
They shot Jacques and in the presence of his wife and two children, stole various items including cellphones, a hairdryer, shoes, a toaster, bar fridge, bedside lamps, money, DVD player, handbags, toys. These items were loaded into the Oosthuizen’s GWM bakkie and the accused drove off in the vehicle which subsequently stalled a few kilometres away. They abandoned the vehicle and goods and fled.
Oosthuizen later died as a result of a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
In aggravation of sentence, senior state advocate, Khatija Essack, told the court that both accused had violated their parole conditions when they committed the offences. They also had a string of previous convictions pertaining to violent crimes, including the murder of conservationist, Greg Bosch, in 2002.
Adv Essack handed in a victim impact statement facilitated by court preparation officer, Louann Shuttleworth, in which the daughter and wife of the deceased mentioned how the incident had affected their lives. They said that they had moved house several times since the robbery as they no longer felt safe anywhere.
The accused were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for housebreaking and robbery (taken as one for sentencing) and life imprisonment for the murder.
The National Prosecuting Authority deemed this sentence fitting given the violent nature of the crime committed. “We trust that it will have a deterrent effect on like-minded individuals,” said Natasha Kara, regional spokesperson for Director of Public Prosecutions KZN.
