Pieter Lourens Liebenberg

Pieter "Piet" Liebenberg (1945 - 2004)

Brief overview:

Piet (58), was overpowered in his house in Wierda Park, Centurion, on the morning of February 24th 2004, tied up with electric cables, and stabbed to death with a knife.

When the suspect, David Tshabalala (22), failed to appear in court, it was uncovered that the police had released him. When Pieter's outraged wife, Elsabé Liebenberg (55), spoke to the police, she said, Assistant Commander Abri Burger told her, "It is one of those things, Ma'am, I don't know what else to say." "When the suspect (in my husband's case) could not be found before his first court appearance, police told me there were 7500 inmates in the prison and they couldn't keep track of all of them." Elsabé turned to the news media for assistance.

David Tshabalala, who is now serving a life sentence for Pieter's murder, testified in the trial of his former co-accused, Tsholo Kgafela (25). Kgafela denied charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Tshabalala said he and Kgafela had planned to break into the Liebenberg's house. While they were searching the house Liebenberg caught them. Kgafela had been in the room when he stabbed Liebenberg, they tied him up and carried him to the garage. They sold goods taken from the house for R1 800.00 and divided the money between them.

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:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • David Tshabalala, who is serving a life sentence for the February 2004 murder of Pieter Liebenberg, testified in the trial of his former co-accused, Tsholo Kgafela (25). Kgafela denied charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Tshabalala said he and Kgafela had planned to break into a house in Centurion that day, and had knocked at Liebenberg’s house. When no one responded they jumped over the wall and broke in. While they were searching the house a man wielding a knife had confronted him. In a struggle he disarmed the man. He had called for Kgafela to come and help him, but when Kgafela did not come he ended up stabbing the man in the chest. Kgafela had been in the room when he stabbed the man, and had afterwards helped him tie up the victim and carry him to the garage. Liebenberg’s widow Elsebé said her husband had not opened the garage door for her as usual that afternoon, and she had seen the bedroom was in disarray. She immediately ran out of the house and called friends and then police.

Additional Biographical Information:

Liebenberg was the only manufacturer in the country of the well-known Roberto panpipes / pan flutes
Shared by his wife on a discussion forum:

"My man, Pieter Lourens Liebenberg (58) was vermoor in ons huis in Wierdapark, Centurion na ‘n huisbraak. Aangeval en met ‘n mes doodgesteek.

POSTED BY ELSABÉ LIEBENBERG | MARCH 30, 2018"

Translation: My husband, Pieter Lourens Liebenberg (58) was killed in our house in Wierdapark, Centurion after a burglary. Attacked and stabbed to death.

Links to Media articles:

• http://archive.is/9zLYn
• http://archive.is/eM41Q
• http://archive.vn/BFfkI

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• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 21 2020, 15:02:50 UTC
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 3 2022, 9:46:32 UTC
• https://www.graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=1537258