‘Havoc’ predicted if teenager is acquitted of Eugene Terreblanche murder

Mr Terreblanche, 69, became famous in the 1980s for his fire-breathing
speeches advocating a separate Boer nation. He was beaten to death at his
remote farm in April 2010, allegedly over a wage dispute with two workers.

Chris Mahlangu, 28, claimed he acted in self-defence and that Mr Terreblanche
had sexually assaulted him. A boy aged 16 at the time of the murder was said
to have confessed his role in the murder to police but later retracted his
statement.

With no forensic evidence to link him to the crime, his lawyer Norman Arendse
said he was “fairly optimistic” that he would be acquitted by a
judge in Ventersdorp this week.

“He lived and worked at the farm so we don’t deny he was nearby but he
was not involved,” he said. “Mr Terreblanche plied him with strong
cider earlier that day and that explains his bravado when talking to the
police.”

Andre Visagie, the former general secretary of the Mr Terreblanche’s Afrikaner
Resistance Movement who now runs The People’s Convenant, said the
Terreblanche family was preparing for “the worst”.

“We can’t expect justice to be done in this case,” he said. “Mr
Terreblanche was against the new South Africa, against the government goal
of integrating first and third world people, so I really don’t think they
will do their utmost to please us.”

He said that the far-Right movement was gaining strength, with more liberal
Afrikaners joining their ranks. He predicted as many as 3,000 people would
join protest marches in the coming months, avoiding the “victimisation”
that has previously seen only small numbers turn out for meetings by wearing
balaclavas.

“We are fed up in South Africa with the genocide of white people, with
being second class citizens, with the appalling government of the ANC, with
black people stealing money through corruption,” he said.

“Violence is what makes the government listen. So we are discussing what
we are going to do if these boys are acquitted. We will not say: ‘It’s a
shame’, and move on.”

He said that “hundreds” would gather outside court this week as the
verdict is delivered. “The people are very emotional and aggressive,”
he said. “Mr Terreblanche was murdered in the most gruesome way and if
his murderers, who confessed that they killed him, are acquitted, I can
assure you there will be havoc.”

Mr Arendse said he had been warned about threats to his own safety and that of
his client. He said his client, if acquitted, will be moved away from
Ventersdorp “to a place of safety”.

Police spokesman Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said riot units would be on
standby, with reinforcements, and its intelligence arm had “ears to the
ground” to detect any trouble.

“We are not a banana republic,” he said. “Justice has to
prevail regardless of skin colour.”

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes