Mainstream papers, especially in Britain, where the pair hailed from, covered the consequent events as the case unfolded.

The two brothers responsible for the murder of British expat Sue Howarth and the torture and attempted murder of her husband Robert Lynn in 2017, were found guilty on a slew of charges in the Mpumalanga division of the High Court sitting in Breyten.

The police arrested Nkosinathi and Themba Yika, alongside their co-accused Lucas Makua and two others, directly after they appeared in court on stock theft charges in the Belfast Magistrates’ Court.

They were pointed out by their sister, Siphiwe, outside court after detectives traced a number of calls from a cell phone stolen in the brutal Dullstroom farm attack to the Yika family home.

Makua passed away in custody after pleading guilty to five of the nine charges filed against him and the Yikas, namely aggravated robbery and housebreaking, theft, the attempted murder of Robert Lynn and two counts of kidnapping.

Makua denied responsibility for the murder, the possession of a firearm and ammunition, as well as discharging a firearm in a domestic setting.

His guilty pleas and testimony against the Yikas were, however, rejected during judgement by Justice Lineo Liphoto, who found Nkosinathi Yika guilty of aggravated robbery and housebreaking, discharging a firearm in a domestic setting, murder, attempted murder, theft, and two counts of kidnapping.

His brother Themba was found guilty on all nine charges, including the possession of a firearm and ammunition.-

Nkosinathi has two previous convictions for malicious damage to property and stock theft, while Themba had previously been convicted for assault and stock theft.

Both brothers requested pre-sentence reports ahead of sentencing, resulting in the matter being postponed for the agreement on a sentencing date between the prosecution and defence.

Ms Howarth was asleep with Mr Lynn in their Marchlands farmhouse when the trio entered through the main bedroom window with a blazing gun, which struck Ms Howarth three times in the head where she lay.

They then demanded cash from Mr Lynn, who was stabbed and tortured with a blow torch until the gas ran out.

In his rejected plea, Makua admitted to placing a bag around Mr Lynn’s head and forcing him into the back of his Nissan Hardbody.

They then dumped Ms Howarth, who was still alive, on the back of the bakkie before driving to a rural area where they forced Mr Lynn to his knees and shot him before leaving the couple for dead.

Mr Lynn woke up and crawled to the road, where he stumbled upon Ms Howarth’s body with a plastic bag stuck down her throat.

Mr Lynn could not remove the bag because at that point Ms Howarth’s jaws were clenched, spurring Mr Lynn to flag down a vehicle, which rushed them both to Life Midmed Hospital, where Ms Howarth died a day later.

The murderers made off with two cell phones, a video camera, R320 in cash and a charity box containing R50.
They also withdrew around R7 000 from Mr Lynn’s account in the following days.

Close friends and fellow expat Ms Claire Taylor, who attended every court sitting, lauded prosecutor Eric Sihlang and the police team who secured the convictions, sharing the good news outside court with Mr Lynn, who returned to Britain after the ordeal.