BREAKING NEWS: Court punishes inhumane murderers in Annatjie Myburgh trial
The High Court, Mpumalanga division found no mitigating circumstances when it handed down the sentence today, in a murder case that can only be described as abhorrent.
MBOMBELA – Judge Annemarie van der Merwe took all evidence pertaining the murder and kidnapping of Annatjie Myburgh into consideration and concluded that Selby John Mabila (33) and Paul Mathebula (32) must be sentenced to the full extent of the law, and handed down life sentences to each of the accused.
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She took into account the impact the repugnant murder had on the family of the victim and the personal circumstances contained in the pre-sentence reports of the accused.
Van der Merwe concluded that the convicted murderers had shown no remorse and persisted in denying their involvement in crimes committed against Myburgh, in spite of the court’s findings.
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The court found that the accused cannot be rehabilitated as they refuted the fact that they had done any wrong to Myburgh or her family.
Further, the fact that they are both young men in their prime, have been detained for more than three years and assisted in the pointing out of the body of Myburgh and had no previous convictions, was not found by the Judge to be substantial and compelling evidence to lessen the sentence of life imprisonment.
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A 15 year sentence was also imposed for robbery with aggravating circumstances and eight years for the kidnapping of Myburgh, both sentences to run concurrently with the life sentences imposed by operation of law on the two murderers.
Van der Merwe stated that a sentence should be appropriate in a sense of installing confidence in the community; it should protect society and must act as the ultimate deterrent for society not to take the law into their own hands.
