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By News24 Wire

Wire Service


Man gets 25 years behind bars for Normandien farm murders

The 33-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment on one count of robbery and was handed 25 years' imprisonment each for the two murders.


A 33-year-old man who pleaded guilty to murdering KwaZulu-Natal farmers Glen and Vida Rafferty has been sentenced to an effective 25 years’ imprisonment.

Sizwe Tell Zwane, who was arrested for the murders in February, pleaded guilty in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.

The couple were killed on their farm in Normandien near Newcastle in August 2020.

Attackers shot the farm owner and his wife, as well as their dog, the police told News24 at the time.

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The house was ransacked, cameras were destroyed and the couple’s vehicle was stolen.

Zwane was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on one count of robbery and was handed 25 years’ imprisonment each for the two murders.

His sentence will run concurrently, police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said.

Zwane’s two co-accused were arrested in October and remain in custody.

“Detectives have not ruled out the possibility of more arrests being effected in connection with the murders,” Naicker said

READ MORE: Second suspect in court for Normandien couple murder

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