The Worcester Regional Court has sentenced murderers Willem Olivier and Kelvin Vlok to an effective 42-year direct imprisonment each following their conviction for the gruesome murder of an elderly woman at her Papkuil Farm in Ceres. Their co-accused, a minor at the time of committing the gruesome crimes, was sentenced to an effective 15-year direct imprisonment, and the court declared all three accused unfit to possess a firearm.

The State charged Olivier, 52, Vlok, 24, and their 20-year-old co-accused with robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder, illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition. The State proved that on 04 March 2023, Olivier requested Vlok and the minor to accompany him to Papkuil Farm, Ceres, to resolve a wage issue between him and his employer, 77-year-old Christina Walters. On arrival at the farm, Olivier asked Walters for two cigarettes, and on her return from fetching the cigarettes, the three accused, acting in common purpose, grabbed her, dragged her outside the house, and tied a belt and barbed wire around her hands and neck. They then kicked her repeatedly all over her body whilst she lay on the ground.

Olivier instructed Vlok to get into the house and take valuable items while he and the minor remained outside with the elderly woman lying on the ground in extreme pain. Vlok returned with groceries, alcohol, a cellphone and four firearms and ammunition. The accused then took a firearm, and each took turns shooting at the deceased as she lay helplessly on the ground. They left with the loot and the firearms and went to Olivier’s residency at Klein Papkuil Farm. Vlok and the minor got into the donkey cart and travelled to a field where they hid the firearms and ammunition.

Police arrested the accused after following up on information that led to them. The accused co-operated with the police, pointed out the firearms, and the minor confessed to the crimes they had committed. They entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State and confessed to the crimes. The Accused, realising the mounting evidence and the possibility of facing the acting regional court prosecutor, Amisha Ratanjie, accepted the court’s proposed sentence.

These violent criminals mercilessly attacked an elderly woman in her home, brutally kicked her while lying helplessly on the ground and took turns shooting at her.