Henri Van Breda’s last bid at freedom has been rejected by the highest court in the country, the Constitutional Court. The same court sentenced him to three life terms after he murdered his parents and older brother, and he was also sentenced to a further 15 years for the attempted murder of his younger sister Marli.
Breda received an additional 12-month sentence for obstructing the course of justice.
The gruesome murders transpired at the family’s home on the luxury De Zalze estate in Stellenbosch four years ago. Van Breda claimed that an axe-wielding murderer broke into the family’s home and was responsible for the murders.
Although his leave to appeal has been dismissed, his application of condonation has been granted. Condonation is defined as the act of forgiving, overlooking a wrongdoing and pardoning someone, and his lawyers applied for the grant of condonation after their deadline to apply for the leave to appeal was missed. The court found that there would be no prospect of success in Van Breda’s bid to appeal.
This has not been Van Breda’s first attempt at fighting his conviction and punishment.
The Supreme Court of Appeal and the Western Cape High Court have also dismissed his bids to challenge his guilty verdict and sentence.
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