Myburgh and son face judgment for murder of emerging farmer Mavula
The pair of North West businessmen have pleaded not guilty to driving over the farmer with their bakkie.
Schalk Myburgh Junior speaks to his father, Schalk Myburg Senior, after the court adjourned for the day in the Pretoria High Court, 7 September 2017, Pretoria. The father and his son stand accused of murdering a black farmer with their bare hands before driving over him on a farm near Brits. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Schalk Myburgh and his son Schalk Junior – accused of murdering farmer Reckson Mavula – are back in the High Court in Pretoria, with Judge Tshifiwa Mawumela expected to hand down judgment.
Myburgh, a building contractor in the North West, and his son Schalk Jnr are accused of assaulting and murdering Mavula by driving over him with their bakkie. The incident took place in Brits in 2015, at which point Mavula was their neighbour.
The court heard in September 2018 that the severe injuries Mavula endured were consistent with a car accident involving a pedestrian and not an assault.
Professor Gert Saayman, a specialist forensic pathologist, gave the evidence in the trial of North West building contractor Schalk Myburgh and his son Schalk Jnr, who have pleaded not guilty to murdering Brits farmer Marsha Mavula in December 2015 by severely assaulting him and driving over him with their bakkie.
They admitted to confronting Mavula, who they suspected of being a stock thief, but insisted they had fled from the scene in fear of their lives after he attacked them and had no idea how he sustained the injuries that killed him, although Myburgh senior admitted to falling on top of Mavula.
The North West principal medical officer said in her autopsy report Mavula had sustained 48 rib fractures, a ruptured liver and lungs, had massive bleeding on the head and had died of multiple blunt force injuries.
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman. Background reporting, Ilse de Lange)
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