Man sentenced to only 15 years for murder

On Wednesday, October 31 the High Court in Pretoria sentenced 18-year-old Lazarus Pakwe to 15 years imprisonment for murder, house robbery, and four counts of armed robbery committed in the Hartbeespoort area, reports Kormorant.

Dirk Snyders Snyders, a 56-year-old pilot, was shot in the chest after five men broke into his house in Canon Crescent in Ifafi on October 1 2016.

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On the night of the murder, Pakwe climbed through a kitchen window which was slightly open and opened the kitchen door for his accomplices. They went upstairs and found Snyders’ 29-year-old son in his bedroom. He was threatened with a knife and asked where the safe was.

Brits cluster police spokesperson Warrant Officer Tumelo Menyatso said: “The father, who was in the main bedroom, heard a noise and went to investigate. He was approached by Pakwe and his accomplices and then shot. The suspects fled the scene with a plasma television, laptop, cell phone, as well as sunglasses.”

The investigating officer, Detective Warrant Officer Audrey Motsepe of the Hartbeespoort police station, arrested Pakwe a week after the murder.

Upon his arrest, Pakwe was linked to four armed robberies in the Kommandonek area near Kosmos.

The station commander of Hartbeespoort, Col Jannie Van Der Walt, welcomed the conviction and emphasised that the police will work tirelessly to ensure that criminals are put behind bars.

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