SA man murdered for speaking English

Throughout the trial, Pondo, who was 18 years old at the time, vehemently denied the allegations, claiming mistaken identity.

He insisted that he had never encountered the deceased nor known him during his entire existence

Pondo maintained that on that ill-fated day, he remained behind putting away bricks and tools at Southlawn farm where he worked as a bricklayer.

In an attempt to mitigate the severity of the punishment, the accused’s counsel, Ms Machanzi, argued that Pondo, being a first-time offender and only 18 years old at the time of the crime, should be shown leniency due to his immaturity as a youthful offender.

However, the judge made it abundantly clear that such general mitigating factors would only hold weight if the court did not deem the murder to be aggravated.

The judge emphasized the unrelenting brutality of the attack, underscoring that the accused provided the victim with no chance of survival.