Trial starts in white leader's death
Source: Agencies |
October 11, 2011, Tuesday
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The trial of two black people, accused of beating to death South African white supremacist leader Eugene Terre'blanche at his farm, opened yesterday.
Chris Mahlangu, a gardener at Terre'blanche's farm, and a 16-year-old not identified for legal reasons, are charged with the murder in April last year that highlighted continuing racial tensions 17 years after the end of the apartheid system that Terre'blanche had fought to preserve.
The pair pleaded not guilty to charges including housebreaking, robbery and bludgeoning Terre'blanche to death.
The case has served as a reminder of bitter divisions in the country, now dubbed the "rainbow nation," and ruled by the African National Congress, the party that helped end apartheid.
Norman Arendse, attorney for the teenager facing murder charges, said there were "appalling conditions on the farm" that was not fit for human habitation. He told the court his client did not participate in the killing but did call police after finding Terre'blanche's body.
Prosecutor George Baloyi told the court the two found Terre'blanche asleep and beat him to death.
Many were worried the murder of Terre'blanche - who led the hardline supremacist Afrikaner Resistance Movement - could have sparked racial violence. But police said the motive for the crime was probably unpaid wages rather than anything political.
Chris Mahlangu, a gardener at Terre'blanche's farm, and a 16-year-old not identified for legal reasons, are charged with the murder in April last year that highlighted continuing racial tensions 17 years after the end of the apartheid system that Terre'blanche had fought to preserve.
The pair pleaded not guilty to charges including housebreaking, robbery and bludgeoning Terre'blanche to death.
The case has served as a reminder of bitter divisions in the country, now dubbed the "rainbow nation," and ruled by the African National Congress, the party that helped end apartheid.
Norman Arendse, attorney for the teenager facing murder charges, said there were "appalling conditions on the farm" that was not fit for human habitation. He told the court his client did not participate in the killing but did call police after finding Terre'blanche's body.
Prosecutor George Baloyi told the court the two found Terre'blanche asleep and beat him to death.
Many were worried the murder of Terre'blanche - who led the hardline supremacist Afrikaner Resistance Movement - could have sparked racial violence. But police said the motive for the crime was probably unpaid wages rather than anything political.
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