The men accused of murdering Kuils River mom Zarah Jane Hector in 2016 were sentenced to life behind bars in the Western Cape High Court on Monday.
Zarah’s family said they can now finally find closure, more than two years after her violent death in March 2016.
In May, Renaldo van Rooyen from Sarepta and Tawfeeq Ebrahim from Tuscany Glen, were found guilty of bludgeoning the 33-year-old mom of two to death with a hammer in Van Rooyen’s garage.
They also stole and tried to sell Zarah’s boyfriend’s BMW Z3 she had been
driving at the time.
Zarah’s decomposing body was found dumped on a farm in Klein Drakenstein 10 days after she went missing.
Monday, a stressed-out Ebrahim stood in the dock with dark circles under his eyes, which were red and dik geswel, like someone who’d been crying hard.
An expressionless Van Rooyen, dressed in a grey hoodie, listened as Judge Lister Nuku read out their sentence.
“The fact that the accused are first offenders and the fact that they have spent two years in custody should be taken into consideration,” Nuku stated.
“However, the aggravating circumstances show both accused showed no remorse. Despite the conviction in May, they remained steadfast in their innocence.”
The judge said although Ebrahim said he was sorry, he still tried to pass himself off as innocent.
“Mr. Ebrahim still tried shifting the blame, but the circumstances are clear that Mr. Van Rooyen could not have acted alone,” he said.
“Both accused had the opportunity to testify and take the court into their confidence, but they declined.”
Asking the duo to stand, he ruled: “On the charge of murder, I sentence you both to life imprisonment.
“On the charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances, I sentence you both to 15 years. You are declared unfit to possess a firearm.”
There were tears of joy mixed with relief and pain in the court gallery as the Hector and Ebrahim families embraced each other.
Outside court, Zarah’s sister Vivi-Anne Pretorius said their family can now start healing as justice has at last been served.
CLOSURE: Vivi-Anne Pretorius outside the court. Video: Robin-Lee Francke
“It’s been a long ride, almost two-and-a-half years that we’ve been coming obediently to court, trying to do the right thing and looking after the end of Zarah’s life,” she said.
Ebrahim’s mother, Nazley, who was being comforted by her twin sons, did not want to comment, while there were no relatives of Van Rooyen’s at court.
Van Rooyen’s mother Rachelle passed away two weeks ago.
She had testified in court that she was the last person to see Zarah alive.
She said Zarah was in her kitchen on the same day she was later reported missing.
A community member told the Daily Voice: “His mother died of a broken heart.”