Brendin Horner suspects he ‘bragged about assaulting a white man on a farm’

Two suspects have been arrested for the murder of the Free State farm manager, Brendin Horner.

• Witnesses say that two men accused of killing farm manager Brendin Horner allegedly bragged about assaulting a white man on a farm.
• The men, who are requesting bail, gave alibis for the time Horner was killed.
• But the state’s attorney said they had evidence that disputed his alibis.

The two men accused of murdering farm manager Brendin Horner allegedly bragged about assaulting a white man on a farm, according to witnesses. Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa appeared in Senekal Magistrates Court on Friday morning, where they requested bail.

Amidst a heavy police presence in court, Police Minister Bheki Cele, State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, EFF leader Julius Malema, and his deputy Floyd Shivambu were also in court.

Taking the stand, Mahlamba told the court that he knew nothing about Horner’s murder and that he was with his girlfriend the night Horner was killed on a farm in Paul Roux in the eastern Free State.

SEE | Inside the tragic final moments of Brendin Horner

Horner was killed Thursday night, October 1, and his body was found the next morning.

Mahlamba further claimed that the bloodstains on his pants that police found when they arrested him came from a sheep that he slaughtered at a festival he attended last month.

Mahlamba told the court that the police never informed him about the charges he faced and how it was linked to the murder. The state prosecutor, during cross-examination, told the court that Mahlamba did not attend the festival, according to a witness who organized the event.

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Additionally, it was recorded that an affidavit was obtained from Mahlamba’s girlfriend and she refuted claims that he was with her all night. The State had another witness who claimed to have seen Mahlamba and Matlaletsa come from the farm where Horner was murdered on the morning of October 2, and that both defendants had their clothes stained with blood.

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Another witness told the State that he saw both defendants in a tavern in Paul Roux in the late afternoon of October 2. The witness said Mahlamba bragged about assaulting a white man on a farm. Another witness is said to have spoken with Matlaletsa, who allegedly boasted of the same attack and gave details of the attack.

The details coincided with the attack on Horner that led police to arrest the two defendants. Matlaletsa, who requested bail through an affidavit read by her legal aid attorney, told the court that she would not plead guilty and chose her right to remain silent on the merits of the case.

Additionally, he testified that he has two prior convictions for stock theft and one conviction for illegally purchasing a pig. Both defendants told the court that they were not employed full time, that Matlaletsa was surviving and supporting his family on a disability allowance, and that Mahlamba was doing odd jobs. The application of the bond continues.

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