EVANDER – Two farm attackers were sentenced in the Evander Regional Court to 80 years’ imprisonment each on 15 August.
Regional Court Magistrate Ms Charmaine la Marque sentenced Kansas Mintoor and Andries Nkabinde to jail for 80 years each of which they will each effectively serve 38 years in prison for the attack on and torture of Mr Wimpie (now 58) and Ms Sunet Oosterhuis (now 57) on 4 February 2015.
According to news reports and what was revealed in court of that night, Ms Oosterhuis collected her husband who returned home from Mozambique at the airport and the couple was attacked when they stopped in front of their home.
Their farm, Kortlaagte, is between Leandra and Delmas and falls in the Leslie farm district.
Mintoor and Nkabinde were part of a posse that awaited the Oosterhuis couple. Mr Oosterhuis was shot in the arm.
They broke his hand and fingers and tied him up outside. They severely beat him with pipes and demanded money.
While Mr Oosterhuis was half conscious and bleeding outside, the attackers took Ms Oosterhuis into the house, made her strip off her blouse and continuously beat and shoved her around while demanding money.
They ransacked the house. Evidence given in the court showed that Ms Oosterhuis sustained severe bruises all over her body.
The farm attackers eventually fled the farm in Mr Oosterhuis’ bakkie that was loaded with electrical and electronic appliances, including a laptop.
The Oosterhuis couple was treated for their injuries at the Mediclinic Highveld in Trichardt.
They testified in court that they were severely traumatised by the crime. Mr Oosterhuis felt helpless as he heard his wife’s screams coming from the house.
The police worked throughout the night to track down the attackers.
Information led them to Nkabinde’s house in Lebohang where the police found Nkabinde and Mintoor in the process of washing the blood from their clothes at 7am.
Several of the items stolen from the Oosterhuis farm were found in Nkabinde’s house, including the laptop. The bakkie was also later recovered.
Mr Oosterhuis, who was once a productive and lucrative soya and maze farmer, has since sold his farm and left the area.
Mintoor and Nkabinde were each found guilty and sentenced on two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, a count of attempted murder, two counts of kidnapping (incapacitating their victims) and being in possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.
Ms La Marque gave them 20 years’ imprisonment on each robbery count, 15 years’ imprisonment for the attempted murder, five years on three counts each, of using an unlicensed firearm, three years on each of the three counts of being in possession of unlicensed ammunition and three years each on the two counts of kidnapping.
Some of the sentences will run concurrently, amounting to Mintoor and Nkabinde each effectively serving 38 years in prison.
The Oosterhuis couple could not be reached for comment.
Ms Bimla Pillay prosecuted.
Also read:
https://www.citizen.co.za/ridge-times/28716/boer-geskiet-aangerand-leandra-plaasaanval/
Second article:
https://www.citizen.co.za/ridge-times/28862/boer-is-ontslaan-na-plaasaanval/
