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The body of Brendin Horner, 21, was found tied to a post with a rope around his neck earlier this month.
A police vehicle set on fire by angry farmers in front of Senekal Magistrates Court on October 6, 2020. Image: @ crimeairnetwork / Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – A high-level delegation of government ministers will head to Senekal in the Free State on Tuesday as racial tensions simmer over the murder of an agricultural administrator.
The body of Brendin Horner, 21, was found tied to a post with a rope around his neck earlier this month.
When the two men linked to Horner’s murder appeared in court last Tuesday, chaos erupted when local farmers stormed the building demanding that the couple be handed over to the community.
Judicial property was destroyed during the invasion, shots were fired and a police van was set on fire.
From President Cyril Ramaphosa, political parties, pressure groups and ordinary South Africans all have voiced their views on Horner’s assassination and subsequent violent clashes in Senekal.
In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa described Horner’s murder as a terrible act of cruelty, adding that the recent events opened up old wounds.
The president’s words did little to defuse racial tensions, and on Tuesday morning Police Minister Bheki Cele, as well as State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, were expected to visit the small town of Paul Roux in the Free State. to offer your condolences to the Horner family.
They were also expected to meet with agricultural groups in the area.
The government delegation went to great lengths to make sure it listens to the concerns of an angry farming community while addressing complaints from those who feel that last week’s protesters acted with impunity and should be held accountable.
DA FILES CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST MALEMA
On Monday, the head of the Democratic Alliance (DA), Natasha Mazzone, filed a criminal complaint against the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, and the parliamentarian Nazier Paulsen, for inciting violence. .
In a tweet to his 3.2 million followers, Malema urged EFF members to “attack” and posted a photo of a machine gun.
– Julius Seal Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) October 10, 2020
Paulsen, meanwhile, also uploaded a picture of a gun with the caption “get ready.”
SUSPECT ARRESTED 16 TIMES BEFORE
At the same time, Cele questioned the effectiveness of the criminal justice system after revealing that one of the men accused of killing Horner was arrested 16 times.
Two men were in custody linked to the Free State murder, of which a second defendant was also arrested twice for other crimes.
Cele questioned how this was allowed to happen.
“The people we have arrested there, one of them has been arrested twice but the other has been arrested 16 times. I would like to know why a person who has been arrested 16 times still has another opportunity to commit another crime ”.
The minister has already met with Malema and was scheduled to meet soon with Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) leader Pieter Groenewald.
In his weekly newsletter Monday, Ramaphosa said Horner’s murder and the violence that followed showed how easily the tinderbox of racial hatred could be ignited.
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