BREAKING NEWS: Three White Farmers Convicted of Murder After Brutal Killing of Black Man in Mamokgalieskraal

Three white farmers have been found guilty of murdering Dumisani Phakathi, a 44‑year‑old black man who was beaten to death while collecting water in Mamokgalieskraal, North West. The court heard that on 16 September 2023, Jaco Wessels Kemp, Louise Coetzee and Gert Frederik van der Westhuizen were braaing at a chicken farm when they saw Phakathi walk past the gate to fetch water from a nearby furrow. They assaulted him, dragged him into a storage facility and continued the attack until he died.

After the killing, the men attempted to conceal the body. At about 02:00 the following morning, police stopped Kemp and Coetzee on the R511 near Brits and discovered Phakathi’s bloodied body hidden under black refuse bags in their bakkie. Van der Westhuizen handed himself in to police on 19 September 2023 after investigators linked him to the crime. All three pleaded not guilty, but the prosecution presented witness testimony and forensic evidence that proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court rejected the defendants’ attempts to shift blame onto one another, delivering a unanimous guilty verdict for murder. Sentencing is scheduled for 16 March 2026. Community leaders and human‑rights groups have called the ruling a crucial step toward justice for victims of racially motivated violence in South Africa.