The bail application by one of the men accused of killing right-wing leader Eugene Terre’Blanche was on Wednesday postponed to next month in the Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court.
“We have been just been informed that the application for bail has been postponed at their request for 10 May,” said state prosecutor George Baloyi.
The lawyer for the other accused, who is 15, decided not to apply for bail for his client at an earlier private hearing and he will return to the court on May 14.
Magistrate Magaola Foso said the case would be postponed after a request by lawyer Puna Moroko, representing Chris Mahlangu (28).
He said he was not ready to proceed with a bail application.
Moroko said there was confusion as to where Mahlangu would reside if granted bail.
“That is one of the hurdles I have to overcome.”
Moroko said that just before the hearing started, Baloyi handed him an affidavit by Mahlangu’s uncle.
Moroko said the information the uncle gave him about where Mahlangu could stay, differed from what the uncle had told the state.
“His [the uncle] version during a discussion has not confirmed the contents of the affidavit … I am of the view I would be failing my duty by proceeding with this bail application before I could consult [with the uncle].”
Magistrate Foso said he could not force Moroko to go ahead with the bail application, even though Baloyi wanted it to continue on Wednesday.
“I cannot force him to proceed. The matter is adjourned until the 10th of May for further police investigations and a possible bail application.”
‘Too little, too late’
Meanwhile, AWB secretary general Andre Visagie told reporters outside the court that President Jacob Zuma’s calling to order of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema came too late.
“It was too little, too late,” said Visagie, adding that a delegation from the far right-wing movement would meet Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa in Pretoria on Monday to discuss the AWB leader’s murder on Easter Saturday.
The AWB has linked it to Malema’s singing of the “dubul’ ibhunu” (shoot the boer) song. After initially defending his action, the ANC has asked its members not to sing songs that could cause racial polarisation.
To a backdrop of protesters bearing placards that read: “Boere, stop killing farmworkers. Stop raping our black women” held up by black youths outside the court, Visagie said they had no problem with the minor dropping his bail application.
“This does not mean anything to us … he is available to stand trial. The AWB won’t stand in anybody’s way,” he said.
“We will accept what the justice system does to these two accused … for us now it is a continuation of a murder of white people by black people and this has got to stop now.”
Volkstaat
They would also press on for their own private Afrikaner state as they had never been consulted about being part of the “rainbow nation”, believing they already had their own nation.
“We would love to have other nations as neighbours, but we are not part of the Venda nation, we will never be part of it and we will never integrate with them.”
He then complained about the state of the courtroom, saying it was deteriorating and needed a coat of paint.
“How on earth do you expect the Afrikaner nation to accept such deterioration of the third world and be part of this third-world country? We will not accept this. We were never part of the apartheid government, but we feel that this country was built up until 1994. We were a first-world country and the ANC in 16 years turned it into a third-world country.”
Visagie, catapulted to notoriety after his shouting match with a black political analyst on e.tv, then had a brush with a black reporter during a discussion on land ownership.
Visagie told reporters how hard he had worked to get his farm and said he had not been given the title deed for free.
The reporter said black property owners also did not get title deeds for free.
“I warn you not to interrupt me when I speak. Are you going to give me an opportunity to speak or not? You accused me of stealing land, while I have the title deeds,” he said, before calling for other questions.
He claimed the AWB had between 100 000 and 150 000 members. Then he criticised the media.
“You guys are aggravating and antagonising my people … and you are creating racial tension that never existed before… don’t take isolated instances and make it an AWB standpoint.”
He said the AWB had asked its members to arm themselves because “in this country they have to defend themselves”.
He said the AWB did not represent all Afrikaners in South Africa.
When asked whether he would consider leaving South Africa, Visagie said: “I will not leave this country. If you want me to leave, kill me and export my corpse. We were born in South Africa and here I will stay. Nobody will make me move.” – Sapa