This comes after the case against Kamohelo Motankisi and Lerato Selepe was postponed in the Kestell Magistrate’s Court this week.

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Motankisi and Selepe were apprehended after the farm owner, Alheit Smith, discovered seven bodies, which included six women and one young man, on 15 July 2022. They face 12 charges which consist of murder and aggravated robbery.

Smith shared with OFM News that he was left devastated as one of the victims was his wife. He said she was the one who motivated him to keep on farming, as he was supposed to retire from farming a long time ago.

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OFM News previously reported that the DA in the Free State hopes that the two suspects will receive a heavy sentence for the murders.

The party's council member in the Thabo Mofutsanyana district municipality, Bea Campbell-Cloete, who previously attended the court proceedings, told OFM News that the party and community insist that no bail should be granted to the suspects.

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This incident once again gave rise to increased calls for the need for rural safety. Campbell-Cloete called for the re-establishment of Rural Safety Units and said that police staff shortages must also be dealt with urgently to ensure the safety of farmers and farm workers.

She says a clear and direct message has to be sent to perpetrators.

Campbell-Cloete told OFM News in July 2022 that the party will engage with the Department of Community safety to ensure that the Rural Safety Unit in Kestell is re-established and also to ascertain what steps are being taken to ensure police have adequate resources to assist them with the strengthening of rural safety in the area.

OFM News