Senekal killing: Brendin Horner murder suspects back in court

The two men accused of being behind the savage killing of farm manager Brendin Horner, are expected to once again appear before the Senekal Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 22 October 2020 to continue their application for bail.

Sekola Matlaletsa and Sekwetje Mahlamba are said to have strangled the 21-year-old man to death and stabbed him multiple times on 1 October. His lifeless body was tied to a pole and a rope was around his neck – the gruesome discovery was made by Horner’s own father, Robbie, on the DeRots farm outside Paul Roux.

His Toyota Hilux pickup truck was later found on the neighbouring farm, Duikfontein.

The pair had appeared before the same court on Tuesday, 20 October 2020, however the matter had to be postponed. Several jaw-dropping revelations were made in court, including that the blood samples which were taken at the victim’s car, did not match any of the suspects.

DNA samples not a match

According to the prosecutor in the case, DNA samples taken from Horner’s bakkie did not match one of the suspects, while a sample taken from the other accused came back defective and could not be further analysed.

This puts a potential spanner in the works for the state’s case as an officer had previously told the court that blood belonging to three men – both suspects and the victim – had been found.

Mahlamba and Matlaletsa’s attorneys have both refuted the evidence, dismissing it as weak and circumstantial at best. Mahlamba claimed to have an alibi on the day of Horner’s killing – his girlfriend. He also said he did not know his co-accused well enough and had only seem him around the township a number of times.

Something else the prosecution is pinning their hopes on to ensure a conviction is a witness who claimed to have seen three men walking not too far from the murder scene, the morning after the vicious crime was committed.

The witness claimed the men had on wet clothes and that one of them had bloodstains.

Chaos ensued when Mahlamba and Matlaletsa first made their appearance in court. Outraged farmers stormed the courthouse and even set fire to a police vehicle, which prompted condemnation. The case turned the Free State town on its head and ignited racial tensions.