KNYSNA NEWS - Convicted murderer Waydon Bezuidenhout (34) has been given a life sentence for what Judge Patric Gamble described in the Knysna Circuit Court on Friday 4 October as a "most horrific premeditated crime".

Mawande Kondlo (46), a beloved figure in the Knysna Tourism industry and owner of Wandu Tours and Stays, was found dead on the Bokkoppie Road, north of Knysna, in a pine plantation on Monday, January 17 2022.

Gamble found he was held hostage, tortured and brutally suffocated after being betrayed by his friend and "drinking buddy" Bezuidenhout.

Drug underworld

Until today the real motive for the killing, which has been linked to the drug underworld, is not known.

Gamble said: "For a reason we still do not know, an upstanding member of the Knysna community was taken from the sanctuary of a home which he had proudly built up into a business, held hostage, probably tortured and eventually brutally attacked and murdered."

'Unlicensed firearm'

Bezuidenhout, in in-camera evidence said (he was too afraid to testify in open court as he had been threatened and was concerned for the safety of his family) "the plan was hatched more than 3 weeks before and he was given an unlicensed firearm to do the job because the deceased was his friend and he would thus be able to get close to him easily", said Gamble.

"The fact that the accused went to collect a firearm on the Saturday morning when he and the deceased drove through to The Crags suggests that he was contemplating doing the job then. We do not know... "

Gamble also sentenced Bezuidenhout to five years' imprisonment on the kidnapping charge and 12 months on the charge of defeating or obstructing the administration of justice. These sentences will run concurrently with the life sentence.

'Assassinations commonplace'

Gamble said murder was rife in our society and the daily crime statistics that one reads about in the media are truly staggering.

"Assassinations are now commonplace all over the country. Ordinary people going about their daily work and chores are sick and tired of the level of violence that pervades our society and they look to the Courts for protection.

"And if the Courts fail them, they take the law into their own hands and society descends further into lawlessness. It is thus important that the Courts do what they can to look after the interests of society as best they can."

READ MORE: Families bear the brunt

He said kidnapping, in particular, has become rife of late. The prosecutor submitted crime statistics that show that for the period July 2023 to September 2024, there have been 4 300 reported cases of kidnapping.

"The figure is simply outrageous," said Gamble.

'No one forced him to join in'

Gamble said Bezuidenhout "walked into this (the drug underworld) with open eyes".

"It was he who went to Alli and asked to become a member of their underworld syndicate. No one forced him to join in and he must have been aware of the risks he was taking on at that stage already.

"After all, as he said, he knew that these were violent men who were part of the local underworld who resorted to extortion and the like.

'Assassin from PE'

"Similarly, no one forced him to go to the deceased's house that night because, as the accused claims, Mavusi had lost faith in his ability to get rid of the deceased and had arranged for an assassin to come down from PE.

"The movement of the Mali phone confirms that there was movement of one or more persons from PE to Knysna and back that weekend and that that phone was in the Kondlo's house," said Gamble.

'Danced night away'

Bezuidenhout had "actively participated" in luring Kondlo out of the house, "thereafter leaving him in the hands of the others while he went off and danced the night away".

"A witness at the Total Garage described Bezuidenhout's jovial mood (apparently after the body had been dumped)".

The witness said Bezuidenhout was dancing a jig on the forecourt with a champagne glass in his hand.

When asked what the occasion was, Bezuidenhout said: "It's one of those days" but did not explain himself further.

At the time of his arrest Bezuidenhout had run a funeral parlour business and had also procured a tender to instal fibre cables for wi-fi in Knysna.

He has been in custody for just over two years awaiting trial.

Still no motive

"He said he feared for his life and was granted the protection of an in-camera hearing and then said nothing which implicated him in any of the crimes," said Gamble.

Gamble said "unfortunately", Bezuidenhout's father, who had studiously attended the hearings, was excluded from the court when his son gave evidence in-camera "and was therefore not privy to his son's admissions of involvement in the local drug underworld and of his adultery with a teenager in high school".

"But perhaps that was a blessing in disguise for I am sure it would have pained him greatly," said Gamble.

Even after an exhaustive court trail, there still is no motive for the killing of Kondlo ... Bezuidenhout's "drinking buddy"…

‘Ons bring jou die nuutste Tuinroete, Hessequa, Karoo nuus’