Sekola Matlaletsa and Sekwetje Mahlamba are applying for bail at the magistrates court after they were charged with killing the farm manager and tying him to a fence.
ANC members outside the Senekal Magistrates Court on 16 October 2020. Picture: Abigail Javier/EWN
SENEKAL – The Senekal Magistrates Court has heard how police found pants with blood at the house of one of the men accused of killing Brendin Horner.
Sekola Matlaletsa and Sekwetje Mahlamba are applying for bail at the magistrates court after they were charged with killing the farm manager and tying him to a fence.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has descended on the small town following violent protests by farmers last week.
GALLERY: SCENES FROM SENEKAL: EFF, ANC and farmers protest outside court
Mahlamba took to the stand to motivate why he should be granted bail.
The court heard how police found two pairs of pants in his home with blood on them, to which he responded that he was slaughtering a sheep for a local community member who had an event.
The State said that police found the pants in Mahlamba’s freezer but he has denied this, saying he does not own one.
Police also found muddy boots in Mahlamba’s house which he said he used for work.
The State said that the community member confirmed that she had a sheep slaughtered at her home but said that Mahlamba did not do the slaughtering.
FAMILIES DEFEND MURDER SUSPECTS
The families of two men accused of killing Free State farm manager Brendin Horner have defended them, telling Eyewitness News that they were home on the night of the murder.
Sekwetje Mahlamba (32) and Sekola Matlaletsa (44) have returned to the same court where chaos broke out last week when local farmers stormed the building demanding that the pair be handed over to them.
The violent scenes prompted a visit from government’s security cluster, with calls for calm amid racial tensions.
In this Eyewitness News exclusive, the families of both suspects said they refused to believe that the men killed Horner and contend that they’re being used as scapegoats.
WATCH: ‘He’s not a murderer’ – family of Senekal suspect
Maitumeleng Mofokeng is the mother-in-law to Matlaletsa, the older suspect in the murder case that has divided the town of Paul Roux.
While he has 16 prior arrests and accusations that he’s a stock thief, Matlaletsa’s family is standing by him.
Mofokeng said despite all his wrongdoings, her son-in-law has never killed a person and on the night Horner was killed, he was sleeping at home.
“He slept drunk. We had an argument that evening while watching local soapies. After that, he went quiet on the couch and he passed out.”
Mahlamba’s loved ones are also defending him.
His girlfriend, Maleqhoa Sithole, said she’s certain he did not leave the house that night.
“I don’t agree that he did a crime of this kind because, on the day of Brendin’s murder, I was with him. That night, we were drinking together at home. In the evening, he took his things into the house and went to bed.”
Sithole claimed that after Horner’s boss and farm owner, Gilly Scheppers, offered a R50,000 reward for information on his murder, her boyfriend was singled out.
