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- EFF leader Julius Malema told party supporters to march towards the city of Senekal on Friday.
- Various groups met in the city of Free State before the appearance of the alleged killers of Brendin Horner.
- There is a large police presence in the city and the opposition groups are kept separate.
EFF leader Julius Malema told a group of supporters in Senekal, in the Free State, on Friday morning to “march into the city.”
Many fans brandish clubs, golf clubs, and other items, including cricket bats and hockey sticks, reports News24’s Pieter du Toit.
Buses full of EFF supporters arrived in Senekal on Friday morning ahead of the bail request from Sekwetje Isaiah Mahlamba, 32, and Sekola Piet Matlaletsa, 44, accused of murdering the 21-year-old farm manager. Brendin Horner near Paul Roux on October 1.
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA | Murder of Brendin Horner: black or white, crime is a collective problem
Malema’s instruction comes after chants and short speeches denouncing farmers and organizations like AfriForum as “racists.”
Malema’s deputy Floyd Shivambu told the crowd that the EFF wanted to send a message to “the boers.”
“This city is not called Senekal, it is called Matjhabeng,” he said. Then the group moved to the city.
Disparate groups of protesters, including AfriForum protesters, so-called radical insurgents and the EFF, were descending on the Free State city on Friday morning.
Barricades
Police barricades kept the groups apart in an attempt to avoid confrontation.
READ | Senekal riots: defendant Andre Pienaar approaches superior court to appeal denial of bail
One of these groups is a right-wing group called “Kommandokorps”, dressed in military uniform. Its leader, “Colonel” Frans Jooste, claimed that the Free State would once again be a Boer republic, Du Toit reported. They listened to songs by Steve Hofmeyr.
Police erected barbed wire barricades to separate them from EFF members who gathered on a side street.
READ HERE | Ramaphosa has allowed the state to be humiliated – Malema defends EFF’s intention to protest in Senekal
Another group of burly young men, who claimed to be supporters of Gauteng’s Freedom Front Plus, wore T-shirts with the words “Ons vir jou, Suid-Afrika”, a line from the apartheid anthem Die Stem, and a picture of an AR15 rifle. printed on them.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, and the Minister of State Security, Ayanda Dlodlo, arrived at the Senekal Court of First Instance.
On Tuesday last week, angry protesters stormed the court building and allegedly set fire to a police vehicle.
Follow News24’s live coverage here.
– Compiled by Riaan Grobler
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