The two men accused in the Senekal farm murder of Brendin Horner are set to appear in the Magistrate’s Court for their bail hearings today.
Sekola Matlaletsa, 44, and Sekwetje Mahlamba, 32, were at the centre of a nationwide controversy after yet another high profile farm murder - a phenomenon that is becoming central to racial issues in contemporary South Africa. On Tuesday, they appeared in court for a second time in connection with the murder of 21-year-old farm manager, Horner. In their first court appearance, protesters from the larger farming community demanded that the courts hand Matlaletsa and Mahlamba into their custody before torching a police vehicle.
The chaos prompted further protests organised by Afriforum, the EFF and other political action groups.
According to The Daily Maverick, prosecutors are calling for bail to be denied because allowing the suspects to walk free will spark civil unrest.
“His (investigating officer Gerhardus Myburgh’s) main argument is that the release of the applicants will lead to public violence and unrest,” said Machini Motloung, Matlaletsa’s legal representative.
Motloung dismissed this and pointed to discrepancies in the evidence against his client before requesting that his client be released on R1,000 bail, explaining that Matlaletsa, who receives a R2,100 disability grant, can’t afford a larger sum.
There have also been claims that witnesses have been threatened, while Horner’s bloody clothes and his bakkie are part of a large body of evidence that has been presented in the case - although the defence questions the legitimacy of the evidence. Mahlamba’s legal representative, Joseph Kgoelenya, believes that the evidence is circumstantial and that, at present, there’s no physical evidence linking his clients to the crime, nor have there been any witnesses to the murder.
The defence also claims that there is no evidence that the suspects would abscond from the case and that the bail request, therefore, should be granted.
While Tuesday’s court appearance was relatively quiet, in comparison to the 16 October incident, it is likely that the bail hearings will attract more attention and necessary security precautions have been put in place.
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