This is according to the Free State Judge President, Cagney Musi, who has just started reading his judgment following a week-long trial. Musi says although the court is not obliged to agree with the state that there was no case against Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa, the court, however, needs to make its own findings. 

The state's case was dealt a serious blow after the retrieved cellphone records regarding their movements showed that Mahlamba and Matlaletsa were nowhere near the crime scene. With this as a backdrop, state witnesses such as Boy Khambule disputed the police's version that he allegedly said he saw Mahlamba and Matlaletsa in the company of another unidentified man, descending from the direction where Horner was murdered. OFM News previously reported the state's DNA test results of blood samples taken from the accused’s clothes, came back negative and did not match Horner's blood.

This case once evoked many emotions in South Africa which even led to chaotic protests outside the Senekal Magistrate's Court where the duo first appeared.

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

Before the trial, the two men were released on R5000 bail each after spending a few months in jail.

OFM News