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- Only one of the two men accused of murdering the farm manager, Brendin Horner, was released on bail.
- Horner was found strangled to death on a farm in Paul Roux, in the eastern Free State, on October 1.
- Both defendants have denied wrongdoing, but the State has argued that there is a strong case against them.
One of the men charged with the murder of farm manager Brendin Horner was granted bail, but his co-defendant will remain behind bars after the court dismissed his request for bail.
This was the order Magistrate Deon van Rooyen gave when he handed down judgment on Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa’s bail application at Senekal Magistrates Court on Thursday.
READ | Brendin Horner murder trial – Allegations of death threats, bribery and police involvement were issued during bail request
Van Rooyen said the state did not appear to have a strong case against Matlaletsa.
He added that Matlaletsa was not a flight risk and that his last conviction was for breaking and entering nine years ago.
The magistrate said he could not keep Matlaletsa in custody just because there could be public outrage.
EXPLANATOR | What the State and the defense have argued in the case of the murder of Brendin Horner
However, the co-defendant, Mahlamba, did not present arguments for his release on bail and Van Rooyen said there was prima facie evidence against him.
The court said one of the witnesses was his girlfriend and that he could try to influence her.
Mahlamba and Matlaletsa are charged with strangling Horner to death on a farm in Paul Roux, in the eastern Free State, on the night of October 1.
READ | Witness in the murder case of Brendin Horner allegedly threatened by a relative of the accused to keep silent
Horner’s body was discovered the next morning. He had multiple stab wounds and abrasions on his thigh, indicating that he had been dragged down a gravel road.
The body of the 21-year-old was found tied to the bottom of a fence post a few meters from the door of the house where he and his girlfriend lived on the farm where he worked.
Both Mahlamba and Matlaletsa denied wrongdoing and informed the court that they intended to plead not guilty.
They also told the court that they had alibis, saying they were with their partners the night of the murder.
However, since then the State has presented evidence from Mahlamba’s girlfriend, who acknowledged that when she woke up during the night, he had left and only returned the next morning.
Matlaletsa’s wife gave police an affidavit saying he was with her all night.
The legal counsel for Mahlamba and Matlaletsa argued that the case against their clients was weak and based on circumstantial evidence, but the State maintained that there was a prima facie case against the defendants.
This is a story in development.
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