IT consultant Muzi Kunene was sentenced in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Friday to life imprisonment for the murder of Ballito estate agent Lynne Hume.
Judge MH Rampai also sentenced Kunene to a further 30 years’ imprisonment for fraud, robbery, and kidnapping.
Kunene’s two accomplices, Mumukeleni Khoza and Mphakamiseni Khumalo, were both sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment.
They were convicted only on the charges of murder and kidnapping.
The court found Kunene (46), Khoza (26) and Khumalo (21) had kidnapped and murdered Hume on October 23 2007.
It found Hume (47) was driven from Ballito to a dirt road near Kestell in the eastern Free State and shot in the passenger seat of her white Volvo vehicle.
The car was then set alight and the body burned beyond recognition.
Two State witnesses, Kunene’s son Msebenziwenkosi and Noluthano Nazo, were granted indemnity from further prosecution.
Msebenziwenkosi was the fourth member of the group who kidnapped Hume.
On Thursday Rampai said there was no evidence as to which of the three men pulled the trigger of the 9mm pistol used to kill Hume.
”It does not really matter who of you fired the shot. Those of you, there can only be two, who did not fire the shot are equally guilty of murder,” he said.
Rampai said there was a common purpose to kill on the evidence in the case.
Referring to the conspiracy theory forwarded by Kunene in his defence, the court held that there was no truth in the allegations.
Rampai also found that Kunene was the author of the controversial exhibit OO, an apparent affidavit by a killed policeman, which detailed an elaborate conspiracy plan by police and others against Kunene.
The court agreed with the State that Kunene was the mastermind who had planned all the crimes.
Earlier in his judgement Rampai said the so-called body double the police conspirators allegedly used to frame Kunene for murder did a bad job.
It was said a former Koevoet operative, Blessing Hamutenya, had to undergo plastic surgery to make him look more like Kunene.
Koevoet was an apartheid-era specialised police unit employed to kill ”terrorists”.
Rampai said this ”fake man” missed out on several occasions to nail Kunene.
”He was reconstructed to be accused 1 [Kunene], but at crucial moments he did not do his contracted work. The fake man on several occasions stepped back and did not want to come out openly.”
Rampai said the court held the ”firm” view that various witnesses, who had apparently seen the double, had in fact seen the real man.
”His immaculate dress and eloquent speech and manners made a lasting impression on them.”
The high court also found that the testimony by Kunene’s son, Msebenziwenkosi, which had put the three accused on the murder scene was credible.
”He was an exceptionally outstanding witness,” Rampai said.
The judge held it was obvious that Msebenziwenkosi did not suppress anything to gain an unfair advantage over his co-perpetrators. — Sapa