LIMPOPO- Limpopo Hawks Provincial Head, Major General Thobeka Jozi has hailed the two life sentences handed down in the Thohoyandou High Court on 2 May 2017.
Banda, who was employed as a farm worker at 16 Castle farm in Musina, shot and killed the farm owner Johan Greyvenstein (54) and his wife Annelise (52) in November 2010, on their farm.
The decomposed bodies of the two were found locked in their car, under the railway line bridge, near Kamukos farm by a passer-by who alerted the police.
Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke says investigations led the team to the suspect’s home country where he was arrested and extradited to South Africa with the assistance of Interpol.
“During the arrest, the police recovered goods which were stolen during the farm attack and the firearm which was used to commit the crime,” he said.
Maluleke says Banda appeared several times in the Thohoyandou High Court and Pretoria High Court respectively during his trial, until he was convicted and sentenced by in Thohoyandou.
Banda was sentenced as follows:
Count 1 Murder- life imprisonment
Count 2 Murder- life imprisonment
Count 3 Robbery with Aggravating Circumstances- 15 years imprisonment
Count 4 Unlawful Possession of a Firearm- 3 years imprisonment and
Count 5 Unlawful Possession of Ammunition- 3 years imprisonment.
“We believe that these sentences will send a strong message to all criminals that crime does not pay. We want to thank all those involved, the SAPS, NPA and the entire Justice system for making sure that the family of the deceased got closure from the incident they sadly endured,” Jozi concluded.
