Two men get 25 and 23 years for Ermelo farm murder of Jannie Weideman
The Mpumalanga High Court in Delmas sentenced the pair on 22 October 2026 for the 2023 attack on Roodepoort Farm, while a third accused awaits trial in 2028.
Two men have been sentenced for their part in a farm attack that ended in the murder of 63-year-old Jannie Weideman on Roodepoort Farm in Ermelo, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement from the office of the Mpumalanga provincial commissioner.
The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, sitting in Delmas, sentenced the pair on 22 October 2026.
According to the police account of what the court heard, the attack happened at about 22:00 on 22 December 2023. Ermelo SAPS members were sent to the farm after a complaint. On arrival they found a security company on the scene. The security officers told police they had seen a perpetrator fleeing from the house while patrolling the premises.
Entering the house to investigate, the security officers found Weideman lying motionless on the lounge floor. Police then entered and found him with multiple gunshot and stab wounds. Several empty 9mm cartridge cases were recovered from the scene, and Emergency Medical Services personnel certified him dead there.
Further investigation established that a red Toyota Hilux, firearms, ammunition and jewellery had been stolen from the property. The vehicle was later recovered, abandoned in Breyten. The case went to the SAPS Provincial Murder and Robbery Unit.
Four males were arrested in Ermelo in January 2024 and firearms and ammunition were recovered during the arrests. Two of the four pleaded guilty to murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Mbongeni Walter Nkosi, 36, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for murder and 10 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances. The court ordered that five years of the robbery sentence run concurrently with the murder sentence, leaving an effective sentence of 25 years.
Mxolisi Sibusiso Mnisi, 38, received 20 years for murder, of which two years are suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of an offence involving violence during the suspension period. That leaves an effective 18 years on the murder conviction. He was also sentenced to 8 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, with three years of that running concurrently with the murder sentence, for an effective sentence of 23 years.
The matter against a third accused, Bongani Khoza, has been postponed to 20 November 2028 for trial in the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, which will be sitting in Breyten. The fourth person was granted indemnity under Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act and his name is withheld.
Lieutenant General Apaphia Modise, the provincial commissioner in Mpumalanga, welcomed the sentencing and commended the investigation team, the prosecution team and the judiciary for their work in bringing those responsible to justice.
The statement was issued by SAPS and is available at https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=72092. It is a police media statement summarising the court’s findings rather than the judgment itself.
