The legal counsel representing 32-year-old Sekwetje Mahlamba and 44-year-old Sekola Matlaletsa, have dismissed the presumed outrage at the granting of bail for the accused as nothing more than a minor concern on the part of the state. 

The issue was first raised by investigator Pieter Myburgh last week, during his testimony before the Senekal Magistrate's Court. 

Both Joseph Kgoelenya and Machini Motloung, representing Mahlamba and Matlaletsa respectively, have pointed to the calm that has descended upon the Free State town since the accused first appeared in the same court on October 6, as an indication that tensions have quelled. 

OFM News’ Olebogeng Motse reports that lead investigator, Myburgh, isn’t on the same wavelength as the defense counsel on the matter.

Myburgh says the absence of conflict in Senekal is thanks to increased police visibility and tighter access control to the courthouse by authorities. He disagrees that it is because tensions have been quelled. 

On 6 October, following the duo’s first court appearance, a group of disgruntled protestors affiliated with the farming community stormed the court cells attempting to gain access to the accused. Myburgh is quoted as saying in his testimony last week, that the accused could have been fatally injured in that incident had the protesting group found them. This is one of the reasons why the state is opposing bail for the accused in the matter.

On Monday, the two men arrested in connection with the aforementioned protest in Senekal were released out on bail of R15 000 respectively. It was the Bloemfontein High Court that greenlit 51-year-old Andre Pienaar’s bail effectively reversing the Senekal Magistrate's Court ruling on the matter. 

Judge Celeste Reinders found that Pienaar’s legal team, led by Advocate Jacques Potgieter, succeeded in showing that the 51-year-old former farmer and businessman was in fact not a flight risk as suggested by the state. She further dismissed the state’s allegations that Pienaar had attempted to influence witnesses as nothing more than concerns. The success of Pienaar’s appeal led to the release of 33-year-old Stephen Fourie also on R15 000 bail. The co-accused are facing charges of public violence, arson, and malicious damage to property, among others in connection with the torching of a police van and damage to court infrastructure on the day. They will re-appear in the same courthouse on 20 November.

OFM News