Three people found guilty of the kidnapping and murder of a British couple in KwaZulu-Natal will be sentenced in February next year.
The High Court in Durban convicted Sayefudeen del Vecchio, his partner Fatima Patel and Malawian national Musa Jackson on Tuesday.
The incident happened in the Ongoye Forest in the province in 2018.
During their bail application, the state led evidence that the three had links with militant group ISIS.
Doctors Rodney and Rachel Saunders had been kidnapped when they visited the forest to collect rare seeds.
The three convicts robbed them and used the banking applications on their cellphones to buy items, and make withdrawals with a total value of R 700 000.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says, “Between the period of 8 to 14th February 2018, the accused kidnapped and murdered Doctors Rodney and Rachel Saunders.”
Ramkisson-Kara says, “The Saunders were world-renowned botanists, regarding the charge of malicious injury to property, in September 2017 Del Vecchio set fire to three farms belonging to Tongaat Huletts. This is after Tongaat Huletts refused him permission to enter their property. The damage caused is estimated at R 2.3 million.”
