The family of the 25-year-old man who was murdered and buried in a shallow grave on a farm in Kroonstad in the free state wants justice to be served.
The family, who was present during the bail application of the 80-year-old man accused of the murderSay that they were destroyed.
The suspect has denied that they know or kill the deceased.
He also told the court that he will not avoid the trial or will mess with evidence or disrupt the investigation if he is released on bail.
He is confronted with five charges, including murder and beating the ends of justice related to the same incident.
A teenager also appeared before the court in connection with the murder.
In an attempt to release the 80-year-old man on bail, the defender of the suspect Roelf van Wyk asked the court that he has worked with the authorities and there are no witnesses on his property.
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He also argued that his client has no previous convictions or pending things.
Van Wyk also told the court that people who have attacked the 16-year-old minor, who is a second accused in the case, are known cable thieves.
“You have no evidence of the incident that happened on his farm because you were not there and the accused cannot be put into custody because he has no evidence that the police are looking for,” says Van Wyk.
Opposite the guarantee application, the State argued that the accused did not hand over his firearm that it would have been reportedly involved in other matters.
Public Prosecutor Kgabi Ganyane also accused him of not cooperating with the police during the arrest.
Ganyane labeled the accused as someone who is easily activated and is not afraid to take the law into their own hands.
The accused would have used his gun to make situations harmless and the state says that this will probably happen if he is released on bail.
“A lot of evidence is being treated and if he is released on bail, he will disrupt the investigation and this case has drawn a lot of attention and causes racial tensions,” he says.
The family of the deceased says it is still waiting for DNA results. However, they say they have already identified the body.
The uncle of the deceased, Teboho Mashea says he was present when the shooting took place.
Mashea adds that he is still surprised by the fact that their loved one was buried in a shallow grave without their knowledge.
“The owner of the farm took the phone from the deceased. My first thought was that he had kept him alive and attended his wounds when he had shot him. We were broken to find out that he would have buried him without our knowledge,” he says.
The EFF in the province says that this case should serve as an example that no one is above the law.
The provincial secretary of the party, Bosanku Msimanga, says that they are against the release of the 80-year-old bail because arguments had no water due to his defense.
Msimanga says: “We remain fiercely against any idea that trying to talk about this old man a bail. Even arguments they brought forward were not convincing. Under those arguments, he is older and 80 years old and cannot be arrested. By implying implications. This argument says when you are more than eighty, you can do.
The State had initially tried to postpone the bail request, with reference to the need to obtain more evidence.
However, the court refused the application with reference to the default to substantiate its case.
The bail request is expected to continue on Friday, whereby the accused remains in custody.
Sipho Kekana
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