Stephanus Marthinus Cross

Stephanus Marthinus Cross "Boeta" (1944 - 1999)

Brief overview:

Stephanus (49), from Paradise People guest farm, in Hoedspruit, was clubbed to death by an employee Nicolas Tsie (22), and his accomplice on 20th December 1999.

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

Additional Biographical Information:

Extract, and details of the attack from the Committee of Inquiry into farm attacks Report, released June 2003. (Page 100)

"Cross: 1999-12-20 Nicolas Tsie (aged 22), was employed by the deceased, Stephanus Cross (55), on a guest farm in Limpopo Province. On 18 December 1999 there was a party at the farm. Tsie also attended the party. He got drunk and there was an argument between him and Cross about his wages. He said he could not bear working with Cross. Cross and other people then took Tsie to his hut.

The following day Tsie did not go to work and seemed to have disappeared. He returned on the 20th to fetch his clothes, and disappeared into the bush armed with a stick. Cross left with his motorcar. When he returned later, Tsie was waiting for him at the entrance gate. When he got out of his motorcar to close the gate, Tsie attacked him with a wooden stick, hitting him over the head several times. He died on the scene.

Tsie then took his cellular phone, wallet and ID document and disappeared. Tsie was arrested on 16 January 2000. In a confession he said that he and a friend had attacked Cross. He explained that Cross had promised to pay them R500-00 per month, but in fact only paid them half that amount. When they confronted Cross he called them “ka..irs”.

Tsie was tried in the High Court on 24 October 2001, convicted of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances and sentenced to 15 and 12 years imprisonment for the respective crimes.

Comments: The attacker worked on the farm. This is one of the minority of cases where revenge or a dispute over wages between the farmer and the worker clearly was the motive for the attack. There was a perception that Cross did not treat his employees well, and that the relationship between them was not good.

During an interview the prosecuting state advocate indicated that in his view the attacker had no political motive for the attack. This was confirmed by the investigating officer during an interview. The court case was finalised some 20 months after the event.

The sentences imposed for the murder and robbery were much lower than the usual sentence for farm attacks, because the court took into account the bad blood between the attacker and the victim."

• ID Number : 5006105021085
• Official cause of death : Unnatural

Links to Media articles:

https://africacheck.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Final-Report-Com...