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Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa were charged with the murder of the 21-year-old.
Sekola Matlaletsa and Sekwetje Mahlamba, the two suspects charged in the murder of Brendin Horner, appear before Senekal Magistrates Court on October 16, 2020. Image: Abigail Javier / EWN
JOHANNESBURG – Men accused of killing farm manager Brendin Horner are expected to return to the Senekal Magistrates Court dock on Tuesday morning to request bail.
Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa were charged with the murder of the 21-year-old.
Horner’s body was found tied to a fence earlier this month at the Paul Roux farm where he worked.
His murder sparked racial tensions, clearly targeting the small town of the Free State.
Matlaletsa and Mahlamba are accused of killing Horner, who caught them while allegedly trying to steal stocks.
Senekal Magistrates Court heard that Mahlamba was out on bail for another stock theft case at the time of his arrest this month, and Matlaletsa also had prior convictions for stock theft.
But Mahlamba insisted that he was at home with his girlfriend the night Horner was killed.
Police said they found bloody pants at his home, but he said he wore them when he was killing a sheep for a community member in his municipality.
Unlike Mahlamba, Matlaletsa did not take the stand. His attorney read an affidavit in which he also claimed to be at home the night Horner was killed.
DEFENSE OF THE OFFICIAL INVESTIGATOR OF CROSS EXAMINATION
Meanwhile, the investigating officer for the murder case was expected to be questioned Tuesday morning.
Gerhardus Myburgh testified Monday on the bail request.
Myburgh ended his testimony in strong detail. This included how a witness told police that he saw three men in the early hours of the morning when Horner had been killed in wet clothing, one with blood on his clothing, and how Horner’s bakkie was found with stains of blood belonging to three people.
The court also heard that Matlaletsa and Mahlamba were heard bragging at a local tavern of beating up a white farmer in Paul Roux and taking his car.
Myburgh was questioned by the state and the defense was expected to question him.
LOOK: ‘Not a murderer’ – Senekal family suspect
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