Malebane Simon

Age 61. He was ambushed as he entered the farm property, severely beaten with an unknown object, and dragged into his house where he was bound with ropes and murdered. The attacker also targeted and killed a 59-year-old farm employee on the premises named Daniel Leburu, who was also tied up and fatally shot. Following the double homicide, the perpetrator robbed the property, stealing a handgun and an estimated R200,000 in cash.The South African Police Service activated an intelligence-driven operation involving local detectives and Crime Intelligence units to track down the culprit. Three days after the attack, law enforcement officers successfully arrested a 28-year-old suspect named Lazarus Justice Mohapi. The investigation was led by Captain Dana Smith of the Bela-Bela Detectives, who compiled the forensic and physical evidence linking him to the farm murders.The legal proceedings culminated in April 2023 when the High Court of South Africa sitting in Polokwane officially convicted and sentenced Lazarus Justice Mohapi. He was found guilty on seven distinct charges, including two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery with aggravating circumstances, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and contravening the Immigration Act. The High Court handed down a severe sentence consisting of two life terms for the murders alongside an additional combined 48 years of imprisonment for the remaining criminal counts. The presiding judge ordered all the additional sentences to run concurrently with the first life sentence, making his effective punishment life imprisonment behind bars.