land expropriation

Farm Land – File Photos

North West Farm Murderer finally sentenced to life imprisonment

A little bit of justice goes a long way…

land expropriation

Farm Land – File Photos

With farm murders now somewhat of a regular occurrence in the country, many in the agricultural industry have been left feeling uneasy and often scared for their lives.

While justice seems to take its time to arrive and often doesn’t come at all, a small victory took place in the North West this week.

North West provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane, is celebrating the sentencing of Zacharia Nyalimathe.

The 34-year-old Nyalimathe murdered a farmer and wounded his wife during an attack in May 2017.

Sentencing was handed down in the North West High Court On Tuesday as Nyalimathe received a life sentence for the murder. A further 68 years behind bars was also dished out for the other nine charges against him.

He was found guilty of housebreaking with the intent to rob, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder as well as a further six charges under the Firearms Control Act.

Nyalimathe was arrested with his three co-accused in connection to the attack on Barend Greyling and his wife, Marlett Greyling. The attack took place at Leeuwkuil farm in Sannieshof.

The co-accused were found guilty earlier this year and sentenced to 76 years each.

Over the course of last weekend, the country saw three different farm attacks separated by just a matter of hours. Two of these were in the North West while the other was in the Western Cape.

Read – Farm murders: Three farmers killed over the weekend

The Western Cape attack took place in Stellenbosch as a popular strawberry farmer died after being stabbed by robbers. The North West attacks took place in Hartbeespoort and just outside of Rustenburg.

The Hartbeespoort incident saw the farmer’s daughter be ordered inside by the robbers. The men found her father inside. While the daughter escaped to get help, the father was shot in the chest.