This as the state is set to furnish the court with a docket, indictment, and the DNA results on Friday. The sitting will also be to determine a High Court trial date, which is expected in the Circuit Court in Bethlehem, a few kilometres from Senekal. Two men - Sekwetja Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa - who are in custody, stand accused of robbery and murder.

The case against Mahlamba and Matlaletsa has previously been hampered by long delays including the unavailability of the DNA results, following a massive backlog at the state’s Forensic Science Laboratory.

During the earlier bail application in Senekal, the court heard that the DNA samples taken from Horner's bakkie could not be linked to the accused because the results were inconclusive and could not be analysed. The court also heard that it could take up to six months to obtain results from blood samples taken from Mahlambi's pair of trousers.

Previously, the Defense Advocate Machini Motloung accused the state of violating the rights of the two accused. He told OFM News that the state is denying them a fair and speedy trial in terms of section 35(3) (b) of the Constitution.

The two were nabbed in 2020 after the body of Horner was discovered, tied to a pole in an open space situated at De Rots on October 1, 2020. According to information received, police received a call from other farmers reporting the attack.

According to several witnesses interviewed by the state, Mahlamba and Matlaletsa were seen at a local tavern in Fateng Tse Ntsho chatting with a group of people. One witness interviewed by the police indicated that Mahlamba, Matlaletsa, and an unidentified man were seen descending from behind the mountains in the direction of where the murder of Horner took place.

 OFM News