Friedel Richard Redinger

Grave: https://www.graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=5199128

Friedel Richard Redinger (1949 – 1998)

Brief overview:

Friedel (49), was shot and killed on his farm, Dalumbe, about one kilometre from his farm gate, on 7th December 1998. Mr Redinger, was a prominent farmer in the Kranskop area, which is located on the north-western boundary of the Greytown farming district. According to the evidence, he was ordered out of his bakkie with his hands above his head and made to lie on the ground. He was shot through the back of his head with a home-made shotgun.

In 1997, a chief whose jurisdiction covers the land adjacent to the western boundary of Mr Redinger’s farm, lodged a title deed claim to a portion of Mr Redinger’s land. In response to the claim, Mr Redinger agreed in principle to donate a portion of his land to community development and entered into a dialogue with the chief and with community and state structures with the intention of building a school on the allocated land.

During the process, a group of young men who lived in the area and became community representatives in the dialogue, demonstrated repeated hostility both towards Mr Redinger and the initiative itself. In the months before his death, Mr Redinger’s life was threatened on several occasions by young men from the area.

In October 1998, a group of three young men stopped Mr Redinger’s bakkie as he was returning home. Recognising them, Mr Redinger got out of his vehicle to talk to them. He was shot at point-blank range with a shotgun and his vehicle was stolen.

Three days later, the Greytown murder and robbery unit arrested two of the three culprits. They were found guilty of murder in the local regional court. Both served on the local community police forum with Mr Redinger, knew him well and had been peripherally involved in the dialogue about the fate of his land.

The reasons behind the murder remain a source of debate in the local community and among the security forces. Same say it was a simple hijacking. Others insist that the killing was directly related to the ongoing debate about the future of Mr
Redinger’s land.

The context of the murder is both sobering and instructive regarding the capabilities of the rural protection plan. It is deeply ironic that Mr Redinger was killed in the very process of ‘getting things right’: responding to land hunger by giving up land in an impeccably consultative process. The young men who killed Mr Redinger were neither aspirant farmers, nor community representatives in any real sense. They appeared to be animated by a wild and disturbing political identity, one only
obliquely connected to the hunger for land.

In November 1999, Nkosikhona Kenneth Gasela (27) and Thembelani Osborne Sibiya (21) were jailed for life by a high court judge in Pietermaritzburg. The third accused, Lindani Nasco Mzolo (22), of Hlongwa, Mapumulo, is still on the run after escaping from police cells. It is unknown as to whether Mzolo was ever re-arrested.

Justice Dumile Kondile said he regarded it as an aggravating feature that the accused were supposed to be members of the local community police forum at the time and that Redinger's murder had been "premeditated, unnecessary and callous".

Reacting to the life sentences passed on the killers, the late farmer's brother, Walter Redinger, told reporters: "I'm satisfied. We're glad it's all over and people will now have time to heal." The victim's sister-in-law, Marlene Redinger, said the murder nevertheless seemed "so sad and unnecessary".

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
  • Grave: https://graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=5199128
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • "More than 7000 people are murdered in KZN per year. The 1998 murder of farmer Friedel Redinger is linked directly to a land dispute, according to the ISS. In 1997 a chief lodged a claim on his land, and Redinger agreed to donate some land and began negotiating. In the spring of 1998, three young men stopped Redinger’s bakkie on his way home. He recognized them as members of the local Community Policing Forum and got out of the vehicle. He was shot in the back of the neck, on his knees, point blank, says his brother Walter. “It was a clear execution”." *https://archive.is/EATvR

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
  • 07/12/1998
• Weapons
  • Home-made shotgun
• Items Stolen
  • Vehicle, cellphone, farm radio
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • Three arrests, Mzolo (22) escaped police custody
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
  • Nkosikhona Kenneth Gasela (27), Thembelani Osborne Sibiya (21), Lindani Nasco Mzolo (22)
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • In November 1999, Nkosikhona Kenneth Gasela (27), and Thembelani Osborne Sibiya (21), were jailed for life by a high court judge in Pietermaritzburg, by Justice Dumile Kondile. The third accused, Lindani Nasco Mzolo (22), of Hlongwa, Mapumulo, is still on the run after escaping from police cells. It is unknown as to whether Mzolo was ever re-arrested.
  • Appealing against the life sentence, Thembelani Sibiya of Kranskop, aged 20 at the time, pleaded not guilty during the trial saying he did not take part in the murder and robbery of Redinger but admitted that he stole Redinger’s cellphone.
  • Trial judge Dumi Kondile said that Sibiya placed himself at the scene and admitted that he was with Nkosikhona Gasela when he shot Redinger. The doctrine of common purpose was applicable.
  • Sibiya and Gasela were members of the community police forum at the time of the murder.

Additional Biographical Information:

• The Great South African Land Scandal: Dr. Philip du Toit
• "More than 7000 people are murdered in KZN per year. The 1998 murder of farmer Friedel Redinger is linked directly to a land dispute, according to the ISS. In 1997 a chief lodged a claim on his land, and Redinger agreed to donate some land and began negotiating. In the spring of 1998, three young men stopped Redinger’s bakkie on his way home. He recognized them as members of the local Community Policing Forum and got out of the vehicle. He was shot in the back of the neck, on his knees, point blank, says his brother Walter. “It was a clear execution”. The young men who killed Mr. Redinger were neither aspirant farmers nor community representatives, said ISS. “They appeared to be animated by a wild and disturbing political identity”. Young black men are responsible for the crime, blacks and whites agree. They are the real rulers of the tribal areas. They live outside the parameters of the law. Walter Redinger says their biggest threat is from the youth. “They have no respect for age”. Death threats are endemic. Hohls has been threatened many times. Friedel Redinger was threatened before his death. Hohls haslaid several charges of intimidation with the police, but nothing has materialized. Farmer Andre Swanepoel also received threats because he tried to stop people from illegally settling on his farm."

Friedel Redinger, was a former mayor of Kranskop.

• ID Number : 4909035054087
• Official cause of death : Unnatural causes
• https://archive.is/brwKl

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.ph/BQMF2
• http://archive.fo/KmxhR
• http://archive.fo/BQMF2
• http://archive.fo/b5bIB
• http://archive.fo/KmxhR
• https://archive.ph/jS7nd
• https://archive.ph/wip/ESPoI
• https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-witness/20130205/28175...
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000188019224883
• https://archive.ph/zg8Pe

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• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jan 11 2020, 7:51:09 UTC
• https://www.yumpu.com/nl/document/read/4451339/laai-af-die-lys-van-...