Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing North West farmer Andre van der Merwe and dragging him behind his bakkie, police said on Thursday.

In addition to the life sentences Thabo Matlhoko, 25, and Shadrack Smith, 29, were given 20 years each for robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, by the Mmabatho High Court on Monday, spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.

“On 30 April 2011 three suspects went to Driekuil farm of Mr Andre van der Merwe in Ottosdal to commit a very gruesome crime which left the farmer dead.”

Matlhoko, Smith and a third man were arrested in Ottosdal the next day. The third man was acquitted on all counts.

Van der Merwe was shot four times; according to Beeld newspaper twice in the back, behind the left ear, and in the cheek.

“Oom Andre had an open heart and he was good to everyone, black and white. We hope and believe he was not conscious when he was dragged behind the bakkie,” Van der Merwe’s friend Frans Hugo, who discovered the body after the murder, told the newspaper.

He was tied to his bakkie and dragged for about two kilometres. His killers hid his body in a maize field before stealing the bakkie.

“Lieutenant General Zukiswa Mbombo… said this sends a strong message to perpetrators of crime that they should respect other people’s right to life,” said Ngubane.

-Sapa

Human Settlements Public Safety and Liaison MEC Nono Maloyi is to launch the provincial 2013 Easter Arrive Alive Campaign in Taung today.

The campaign which will take a harsher and tougher approach against offenders during the Easter period, is aimed at reducing road carnage on public roads within the province.

By Staff Reporter

North West premier Thandi Modise calls for bus crash investigation after eleven injured   North West Premier Thandi Modise has called for an investigation into the bus crash in which eleven school children were injured when their bus hit a power line tower. The accident occurred on the Wildebeeslaagre road outside Potchefstroom in the North West on Thursday afternoon.

“We wish the injured learners a speedy recovery. Though we breathed a sigh of relief that there were no fatalities in the crash, we are interested in knowing what was the cause of the crash as we wish to maintain a safe and reliable learner scholar transport system and public transport system as part of the National Rolling Enforcement Plan and the strategy for the Decade of Action for Road Safety Campaign,” said Premier Modise.

According to ER24, paramedics found the bus firmly wedges into the tower while twenty-one children including the driver were found seated on the floor near the accident.Eleven slightly injured children were treated at the scene before being taken to various hospitals.

Though it is alleged that the accident occurred after the bus driver lost control,it is unclear what caused him tgo lose control.