Four found guilty of Stilbaai murder

Update

GEORGE NEWS - Four of the five men accused of the murder of Heila Kilian (63) were found guilty in the George Circuit High Court on Friday 10 December.

The fifth accused, Xolusani Myoyi, was found not guilty and acquitted of all charges against him.

According to Judge Lister Nuku, there was not enough evidence to link Myoyi to the murder. The other four accused, Sakhumzi Benya, Nkoshihethu Nocuza, Msomi Nikani and Monwabisi Maki, were found guilty on the charge of murder, three charges of aggravated robbery, one of illegal possession of a firearm and one charge of illegal possession of ammunition.

They were all acquitted on the charge of malicious damage to property. Their fate will be heard on 21 April 2022.

All five accused vehemently denied having anything to do with Kilian's murder or having any knowledge of the events that occurred on the night of the murder, 16 April 2018, on the farm Gazania near Stilbaai. It remains a mystery as to who exactly fired the shot that killed Kilian.

Kilian was shot through the heart and died while she was enjoying a braai with her sister Brenda and brother-in-law David Thomas during a visit to their farm. Her family members were tied up and beaten in an ordeal that lasted two hours.

The perpetrators ransacked the house and fled in a white Toyota Hilux bakkie that belonged to the Thomases, taking an undisclosed amount of cash and firearms.

During judgement Nuku said that it was no coincidence that the perpetrators were on the farm on that fateful evening and that it was clear that their approach had been carefully planned.

Kilian was the mother of Zane Kilian, an accused in the murder of top Cape Town detective, Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear (52), who was gunned down in front of his Bishop Lavis home on Friday 18 September 2020.

Senior Adv Christenus van der Vijver was for the state. Benya and Nocuza were represented by Adv Stoffel Prinsloo. Att Kenneth Roberts represented Nikani, Maki was represented by Adv Badie Badenhorst and Myoyi by Adv Allan Lange.

The five accused in court during an earlier appearance in George.
Photos: Kristy Kolberg