Mgiba handed two life sentences for killing his farm employers

[FILE IMAGE]: An empty prison cell.

The High Court in Polokwane, Limpopo, has handed two life sentences to a former farm worker convicted of killing two friends at Echo Caves, Ohrigstad.

Christopher Mgiba killed Anneke and Hennie Claasen and burnt down their houses with the bodies inside in June 2023.

Mgiba had been expelled from his employment a year before the incident for stealing a safe with R10,000.

He has also been given lesser sentences for housebreaking and arson, among others.

The sentences will run concurrently.

The NPA has welcomed sentences.

#sapsLIM Polokwane High Court sentenced 29-year-old Christopher Mgiba to life imprisonment for multiple charges, incl. the murders of Annika (76) & Hendrik Claasen (77) at Echo Caves, Sekhukhune, in June 2023. PC Lt Gen Hadebe praised Warrant Officer Justice Mogatla Mantswane and… pic.twitter.com/GhSgPHf69C

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) August 28, 2025