Catharina Magdelena Dercksen

Catharina Dercksen (1945 - 1993)

Brief overview:

Catharina (48), was attacked on her parents farm Doornspruit in Elim near Louis Trichardt, on 5th July 1993. She was tied up, assaulted and strangled. Doctors found evidence that somebody had tried to poison her with caustic soda.

Catharina's parents were away at the time, and they had left a key with their domestic worker Sarah Lambani, with a list of names of who should be allowed onto the property. Catharina had been given a key to the safe.

When the police arrived at the house the safe was open and the money gone. No windows were broken and no doors were forced open.

The court found that three men had been called in to help. The dogs had been locked up, and the gate opened. Lambani and her friend Daniel Musingadi were arrested within days. Later Samuel Malenga and David Muthidza were taken into custody.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
  • Case No 22/95
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
  • 4
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
  • Sarah Lambani, Daniel Musingadi, Samuel Malenga, David Muthidza
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • September 2004: "Sarah Lambani, the family's domestic helper, was on death row for 10 years. On Thursday she, one of the two remaining South African women condemned to the gallows, finally had her sentence converted to life imprisonment. When she went to prison, South Africa did not have a Constitution which outlawed the death penalty. After she was sentenced to death she was saved from the gallows by the interim constitution, when the death penalty was abolished. She was re-sentenced under the final Constitution. Both the trial court and the Supreme Court of Appeal found Lambani and Musingadi had lied, and sentenced them to death. Malenga and Muthidza were found to be guilty bystanders and sentenced to 18 and 20 years respectively. Acting Justice of Appeal Jock Comrie on Wednesday confirmed all four's convictions. The court only had to reconsider the death penalties imposed on Lambani and Musingadi. Musingadi had already served 11 years' imprisonment but was given another 16 - a similar sentence to that of Malenga and Muthidza. Appeal judges Ian Farlam and Kenneth Mthiyane agreed." *https://archive.is/Vu8QW

Additional Biographical Information:

• ID : 4504020034085
• Cause of Death : ONNATUURLIK
• Catharina married Jacobus Daniel on 02/04/1966
• https://www.gendatabase.com/deceased-record.php?q=2532120&r=CATHARI...
• "05-Jul-93 Catharina Magdalena Dercksen (45) is op haar plaas Doornspruit deur 2 aanvallers oorval en verwurg, Elim naby Louis Trichardt."

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.ph/7m1TH
• https://archive.is/Vu8QW
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0UlqSM-_mwDNWJlZmMxNmYtNGMwMS00Yz...
• http://www.plaasaanvalle.co.za/Moorde.xls
• https://web.archive.org/web/20230717100739/http://www.saflii.org/za... (Court document)