2015-07-01 09:30
Pietermaritzburg – Four men were on Tuesday found guilty of the brutal murder of Winterton man Mohamed Engar, 67, and of a robbery in which his wife, Razia, was burnt with an electric iron in 2013.
The incident, which occurred on the evening of December 5, 2013, took place on Noodhulp Farm where Engar ran a milling business. He was beaten and stabbed to death by the assailants. In her testimony, Razia Engar described how she was forced to lie on her stomach and burnt on her body and legs with an iron during the ordeal.
She suffered severe burns as a result. Acting Judge Anand Maharaj found the prosecution had proved that four of the men on trial before him had participated in the robbery at Noodhulp Farm and were guilty of all the offences arising from it, including Engar’s murder.
They are Sifiso Mabuza, 32, Lindelani Mthsali, 25, Sabelo Ndlovu, 32, and Mduduzi Nene, 37, all from the Ekuvukeni area. The court acquitted two other men — Mbongeleni Nkabinde, 25, and Bongani Mazibuko, 27 — after finding there was insufficient evidence to link them to the crimes.
The judge said the four who took part in the robbery each associated themselves fully with the actions of the others in the gang. They were armed with weapons and foresaw that they would be required to make good their escape, and might meet resistance, he said.
They also foresaw the possibility of someone being injured or that a life would be taken. He said Engar died as a result of being stabbed, and although there was no direct evidence as to who inflicted the stab wounds on him, none of the gang had disassociated themselves from either the murder or the robbery.
All of them had arrived together on the scene and, after committing the crimes, left together with the items they had stolen during the robbery. The evidence linking the convicted men to the crimes included stolen property recovered in their possession, and the fingerprints of Mabusa and Mtshali which were found on the crime scene. Sentencing procedures start on Wednesday.
Source: Four men found guilty of Winterton farm murder | News24
