Main Andrew "Andy"

a heavily armed criminal gang targeted the farm to execute a robbery with the explicit intent of plundering the residence for weapons and money. The intruders set an ambush on the property and waited for Main to return home. As Andrew Main arrived and stepped out of his vehicle, a gang member named Lucky Ntombela immediately opened fire without warning using an AK-47 assault rifle. Main was senselessly mown down and shot dead instantly outside his vehicle. While he lay deceased on the ground, two of the assailants rushed up to his body and aggressively pick-pocketed him to steal his house and safe keys. The perpetrators then stormed his house, thoroughly ransacked the home, and stole an undisclosed sum of cash along with a collection of private firearms, which included a .38 Special Smith & Wesson revolver, a 12-bore Army and Navy shotgun, and a .303 Parker-Hale rifle. Following the murder, the operations on Gilmore Farm collapsed and the property was sold, resulting in 54 local farm laborers losing their employment. He left behind two young daughters.Law enforcement authorities from the specialized Pietermaritzburg Organised Crime Unit and the regional task team launched an immediate investigation and successfully arrested four suspects in connection with the crime. One of the primary shooters who pulled the trigger, Lucky Ntombela, was subsequently shot and killed by police during a violent escape attempt when he wrestled an officer for a firearm while in custody. A second accomplice, Mxolisi Gcwabashe, who was responsible for sourcing and providing the AK-47 assault rifle for the attack, entered a guilty plea to the unlawful possession of the automatic weapon and was sentenced to 7 years in prison in August 2008.The remaining legal proceedings for the main perpetrators took place in the Pietermaritzburg High Court across separate trials. The first main accomplice, Mthokozisi Blessing Jali (34), showed deep remorse during his trial, wept in court, and formally apologized to Main's family. He entered a formal guilty plea to charges of murder, aggravated robbery, and illegal firearm possession. On September 4, 2008, Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Thumba Pillay sentenced Mthokozisi Jali to an effective 24 years in prison, which comprised 24 years for murder, 12 years for aggravated robbery, and 7 years for illegal possession of an AK-47, ordered to run concurrently.