News24 | Alleged killers of German tourist make appearance in North West court

Police discovered Herman Gunter Friedrich Westphal, 74, deceased's body in the nearby bushes. (iStock)

• Three men accused of killing a German tourist made a brief appearance in court on Monday.
• The tourist had picked up one of the accused and asked him to recommend accommodation around the North West.
• The hitchhiker is alleged to have called two of his friends, who later robbed and assaulted the tourist and dumped his body.

Three men accused of killing a German tourist, who had offered a lift to one of them, made an appearance in the Northam Magistrate's Court in Limpopo on Monday after their first brief appearance last month. 

According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, the three men - Jan Thabonga Moshabi, 36, Abstein Madzvimbo, 22, and Thomas Moyo, 39 - face charges of murder and contravening the Illegal Immigration Act.

The murder charge stems from the killing of a German tourist, Herman Gunter Friedrich Westphal, 74, who was allegedly assaulted and killed by the three.

Malabi-Dzhangi said Westphal had ended a tour of Botswana on Friday and drove to South Africa in a Toyota sedan.

He arrived in Lephalale, the Waterberg District, on Saturday morning, where he offered an unknown male hitchhiker a lift and later asked him about recommendations for accommodation in the North West.

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"On arrival at the said accommodation in Moruleng, outside Rustenburg, Moshabi suggested they go to a liquor outlet where they had a few drinks. That's when he informed his two friends about the deceased.

"The accused and his two accomplices drove with the unsuspecting victim to his [Moshabi] place; upon arrival, they tied him up and started to assault him while demanding his bank account pin code.

"They also searched him and took an undisclosed amount of cash and other valuables," Malabi-Dzhangi said.

The three men then allegedly removed the vehicle's number plates and drove Westphal to Northam, where they dumped his body.

While conducting patrols, security officials and a member of Rural Safety are said to have noticed a vehicle without a number plate.

They stopped to investigate, and that was when they saw Moshabi with bloodstains on his T-shirt and immediately notified the police.

"He was arrested at the scene, and later, the police discovered the deceased's body in the nearby bushes.

"The other two suspects were arrested in the North West later that evening in possession of some of the deceased's belongings.

The case has been postponed to 13 March for bail applications, and the accused will remain in custody.

They are being represented by Legal Aid.