Three people have been convicted of the kidnapping, robbery and murders of Cape Town botanists Rodney and Rachel Saunders, the UK-born couple who disappeared in 2018 while working on a documentary for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in KwaZulu-Natal.
Their remains were later recovered on the banks of the Tugela River, bringing a years-long investigation and trial process closer to finality.
Fathima Bibi Patel, Sayefudeen Aslam Del Vecchio, and Musa Jackson were found guilty of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft, and two counts of murder. Del Vecchio was also convicted of malicious injury to property.
The KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court, sitting in Durban, delivered judgment on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, in one of the province’s most closely followed criminal cases.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the convictions relate to the abduction and killing of Dr Rodney Saunders and Dr Rachel Saunders between 8 and 14 February 2018 in the Ngoye Forest area of Zululand.
“Before travelling to the Ngoya Forest, the couple had completed filming for a BBC documentary in the Drakensberg,” she explained.
On 8 February 2018, the Saunders entered the Ngoye Forest in search of rare and unique seeds. What began as a scientific expedition turned fatal when they were confronted by the accused while travelling with research equipment and camping gear. They were then kidnapped and robbed of their belongings.
Ramkisson-Kara then stated;
“The accused gained access to the banking applications on their mobile phones and proceeded to conduct numerous transactions and cash withdrawals totalling more than R700,000. The Saunders were subsequently murdered, and their bodies were discovered a week later on the banks of the Tugela River.”
The case has unfolded over a lengthy investigative and legal process spanning several years. As previously reported by Newcastillian News in May 2022, proceedings formally began that month when the accused were charged in connection with their respective roles in the crimes.
At that stage, the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed that the couple’s last known contact occurred on 8 February 2018, when they informed an employee that they intended to camp at Bivane Dam near Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal.
Investigators later reconstructed the couple’s final movements. It was established that they left Bivane Dam and travelled through forested areas south of the region, where they spent 9 and 10 February. They were reported missing shortly thereafter.
Following the missing persons report on Monday, 12 February 2018, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, launched a full-scale investigation into their disappearance.
As evidence emerged, investigators established that on 13 February 2018, Del Vecchio and his co-accused were withdrawing money from ATMs and making purchases using an FNB card belonging to Dr Rachel Saunders.
Cellphone data further strengthened the State’s case.
Dr Rachel Saunders’s FNB account was linked to her mobile number, and analysis showed that her phone and that of Bibi Fatima Patel were located in the same place at exactly the same time on 10 February 2018, near the Ngoye Forest.
The investigation also led to the arrest of a fourth accused, Thembamandla Kwanele Xulu, on 26 February 2018. He was found in possession of the victims’ mobile phones.
According to the indictment, Xulu had inserted his SIM card into a HUAWEI Y6 handset belonging to one of the deceased. This ultimately led investigators to his residence.
The State later applied for a separation of trials, after which Xulu entered into a plea and sentence agreement in terms of section 105A of the Criminal Procedure Act, Act 51 of 1977.
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The convictions mark a significant point in a matter that has moved through years of investigation and courtroom proceedings.
With the High Court having delivered its findings, attention now turns to sentencing, where the legal consequences of the convictions will be formally determined.
While the process is not yet complete, the ruling represents a major milestone in a case that has remained in the public domain for years.
All three accused remain in custody as the matter proceeds to sentencing on 19 June 2026.
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One Response
Sad that forreigners and forreign investors are not safe in South Africa anymore. South Africa became a jungle of atrocities and a bad place to invest or to live peacefully. If only the government elect would start working for the people that employs them, dropping their corruptive narratives, SA would be great place to live and work again.