A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said his domestic worker and freshwater pearl bracelets another neighbour had heard about five shots just before 07:00.

When they went to investigate, they found the couple dead, still in their pyjamas.

"The robbers ran out the back door. The wholesale pearl necklace house had been ransacked," the neighbour said.

He said members of the White River police's dog unit arrived at the scene, but it had started raining and the dogs lost the robbers' scent. The Middelburg Crime Investigation Unit and members of the Sabie police were also on the scene.

Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism board correspondent Linda Grimbeek said the incident was "shocking" and that their deaths would affect tourism in the Lowveld and surrounding areas.

"We all have to start mobilising against crime because this is not just a freshwater pearl matter for the police - it affects all of us, businesses and jobs as well," said Grimbeek.

Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

Sabie - Mpumalanga police are on the freshwater pearl hunt for two suspects in connection with the murder of a well-known Lowveld couple.
 
The couple, whose restaurant was famous for its fine food and especially its homemade pasta, were found murdered in their house at the disused Hendriksdal Railway Station near Sabie on Thursday morning.

"The police have launched a manhunt for two suspects who are believed to freshwater pearl strands have attacked and shot the couple. We are also investigating a case of business robbery and double murder," said provincial police spokesperson Superintendent Abie Khoabane.

He said the couple were shot dead with a rifle in their house, right next to their business.

"We are still trying to establish if anything was stolen and we hope to make arrests soon," he said.

The couple, whose names have been withheld because their relatives have not been notified, had turned the former stationmaster's house into a akoya pearl necklace guesthouse and owned a restaurant on the same premises.

Regarding calls for punishment, Jansen said the sterling silver jewelry Reitz Four had been punished - Reitz had been closed down, their studies had been disrupted and the residents didn't stay on campus anymore.

Jansen said the practical implications of the reopening of Reitz on campus under the same name, as a "model for the meeting of black and white" were now being worked out.

The compensation of the workers in the inflatable water games  video was also being sorted out, to ensure it was acceptable to the workers and manageable for the university.

Shortly after the news conference, upset students organised a meeting on campus to object against the university dropping the freshwater pearl strands charges, the retention of the Reitz name and Jansen's management style.

Tutu said he hoped the culprits and sterling silver jewelry  their families would have the decency to ask the victims for forgiveness - for the sake of their own spiritual health. "Without forgiveness, this incident will corrode their souls."

He compared Jansen's gesture with the example shown by former president Nelson Mandela when he favoured forgiveness instead of retribution.

"Retribution does not agree with the spirit of pearl necklace style ubuntu, while forgiveness reflects precisely that.

Thank you for showing this spirit," wrote Tutu.

Meanwhile, despite strong criticism, Jansen on Monday stood by what he called "the right decision".

He said at a news conference in Bloemfontein that as a leader his decisions were not based on the directives of individual political parties and that opera or rope necklace he didn't let himself be influenced by those who "beat their breast for social justice".

Liesl Peyper and Gert Coetzee

Cape Town - Forgiveness is not for freshwater pearl strand sissies, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said on Monday, in support of the decision of the rector of the University of the Free State, Professor Jonathan Jansen, to forgive the Reitz Four.

"Your magnanimity has aroused the ire of quite a few, who argue that it could encourage a repeat of such despicable conduct; and that the perpetrators should be dealt with pearl necklace style firmly and not with a sentimental wishy-washiness," said Tutu.

"I, on the contrary, salute you, for you have done us proud."

Jansen apologised for the conduct of the Reitz Four - who made the widely-condemned video in which cleaners were humiliated - during his inauguration speech in Bloemfontein on Friday.

He pleaded for charges to be dropped against the four and freshwater pearl earrings announced that they would be allowed to study at the university again.