Geregtigheid het geskied in Eugene Terre'Blanche Moord Saak

Eugene Terre'blanche:
"The rest of my life belongs to my culture, my language, my God and my nation,"

 

ET trial: Blood spatter saved teen

2012-05-22 22:32 

Ventersdorp - A teenager was acquitted of the murder of rightwing leader Eugene Terre'Blanche on Tuesday, but his co-accused was found guilty.

 "There is no evidence forensically or physically linking [Patrick Ndlovu] to the murder of [Terre'Blanche]," Judge John Horn said in the High Court sitting in Ventersdorp.

He said blood spatters on the wall, the ceiling and the bed in the room where Terre'Blanche was killed showed Ndlovu could not have been present during the murder.

"To say that he intended to kill would not accord with the facts."

Horn said he did not believe Ndlovu played an active role in the attack and that he was merely a passive bystander.

He was also found not guilty on the charge of attempted robbery, but was found guilty of house-breaking with the intent to steal.

His co-accused Chris Mahlangu was convicted on all three charges.

Mahlangu and Ndlovu were charged with hacking and beating Terre'Blanche to death on his North West farm in April 2010.

The sentencing hearing takes place on 18 June.

Horn commended the police witnesses, who were criticised by the defence during their testimonies.

"It cannot be said that they deliberately set out to mislead the court or that the evidence was tainted."

Horn said that investigators should learn there was no such thing as an open-and-shut case.

"All cases should receive appropriate attention. Police and investigators should not let their guard down because a case appears simple and straightforward and do so at their peril, as this case has no doubt proved."

After the judgment, Andre Visagie who leads the AWB splinter group Gelofte Volk, said he was satisfied that the court had thoroughly considered all the evidence.

"The evidence does not prove that the minor can be found guilty of anything more than house-breaking."

The Freedom Front Plus welcomed the judgment.

"It is however clear that shoddy police work has been to the advantage of the youth, who has also been involved in the case and this undermines jurisprudence in South Africa," spokesperson Pieter Groenewald said in a statement.

Brutal attack

Claims that Terre'Blanche sodomised Mahlangu were rejected by Horn earlier on Tuesday.

"Sodomy is such a personal intrusion, I can't believe [Chris Mahlangu] would not have raised it immediately," Horn said.

He asked why it was mentioned only towards the end of the trial, and also only through other witnesses.

Horn said Mahlangu saw the semen-like fluid on Terre'Blanche's genitals as an opportunity to use sodomy as a defence.

However, Horn said the notion that this had indeed been semen was never proven. The same applied to the origin of the fluid.

"I therefore reject any suggestion that [Mahlangu] was sodomised," Horn said.

He rubbished Mahlangu's claim that he had acted in self-defence, and said there was no evidence that Terre'Blanche was killed because of his political views. The dispute was over wages.

"He was revered by some, but despised by others," Horn said.

While Terre'Blanche was portrayed as arrogant and violent, neither of the two accused testified about this, or any claims of abuse.

"None of these things could justify the brutal attack on the deceased."

Ndlovu's name was made public for the first time on Tuesday. His trial had been held in camera until now, but as he turned 18 in April he could be named.

Strong police presence

Throughout the day, police and police vans lined the streets surrounding the court.

 Heavily-armed officers separated rival groups in an attempt to keep the peace.

Brief tensions flared-up outside as supporters of Ndlovu and Mahlangu danced and sang "Viva, Mahlangu, Viva" and "Dubul' iBhunu [Shoot the Boer]".

Some carried placards reading, "Down with the AWB", "Thank you, Mahlangu".

Another said, "Waar is jou onderbroek ET (Where are your underpants, ET?)".

AWB members, clad in camouflage uniforms and sporting flags and banners, were also outside the court. Some of their banners read: "AWB stood the test of time" and "Long live the AWB". 

- SAPA

 Mahlangu skuldig aan ET-moord

2012-05-22 15:00  

Chris Mahlangu is skuldig bevind aan die moord op Eugené Terre'Blanche. Hy is Dinsdagmiddag ook skuldig bevind aan roof.

Die tiener, wat intussen 18 geword het, is onskuldig bevind aan moord, maar skuldig bevind aan huisbraak met die opset om te steel.

Regter John Horn het bevind die minderjarige het nie aktief aan die moord of rooftog deelgeneem nie, hy moet die voordeel van twyfel kry.

Daar was 'n groot polisie-teenwoordigheid buite die hof in Ventersdorp waar Horn uitspraak in die Eugène Terre’Blanche-moordverhoor gelewer het.

Swaar gewapende polisiebeamptes het familielede en lede van die media verhoed om die hofgebou voor die bestemde begintyd van 09:00 binne te gaan.

Volgens eNews het lede van die AWB Dinsdagoggend vroeg reeds daar begin saamtrek.

Die polisie verwag later 'n groot skare mense buite die hofgebou.

Brig. Thulane Ngubane, kommunikasiehoof van die polisie in Noordwes, het gister aangedui die polisie gaan ’n sterk teenwoordigheid handhaaf. Onder meer die lugvleuel, die blitspatrollie en die openbare orde-eenheid sal betrek word.

Chris Mahlangu en 'n tiener, wat 18 jaar oud geword het kort nadat die hofverrigtinge in April vir uitspraak uitgestel is, word daarvan aangekla dat hulle die AWB-leier op 3 April 2010 op sy plaas Witrandjiesfontein beroof en in sy slaap doodgeslaan het.

Albei het onskuldig gepleit op aanklagte van moord, huisbraak en roof met verswarende omstandighede.

Mahlangu voer aan hy het uit selfverdediging opgetree en die tiener het betrokkenheid ontken. Albei het geweier om self te getuig.

"Dit gaan waarskynlik 'n lang uitspraak wees. So berei julle voor op 'n lang uitspraak," het regter Horn vroeër aan die staat en die verdediging gesê. - Susan Cilliers; eNews; Sapa

 Youth in ET trial named

May 22 2012 at 12:38pm

Murdered right-wing leader Eugene TerreBlanche. Photo: AP

The name of the youth accused of killing Eugene Terre'Blanche was made public in the High Court sitting in Ventersdorp on Tuesday morning.

Patrick Ndlovu's trial had been held in camera thus far, but as he turned 18 in April he could be named.

Judge John Horn on Tuesday morning concluded his summary of the evidence given during the proceedings. Before handing down his judgment he would first evaluate whether the evidence and the witnesses were credible.

Outside the court, supporters of Ndlovu and Chris Mahlangu, both accused of killing the rightwing leader, danced and sang “Viva, Mahlangu, Viva” and “Dubul' iBhunu” (Shoot the Boer).

Some carried placards reading, “Down with the AWB”, “Thank you, Mahlangu” and “Waar is jou onderbroek ET (Where are your underpants, ET?)”, a reference to evidence presented during the trial that Terre'Blanche was found dead with his pants pulled down.

The two are accused of hacking and beating Terre'Blanche to death on his North West farm in April 2010.

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging members, clad in camouflage uniforms and sporting flags and banners, were outside the court. Some of their banners read: “AWB stood the test of time” and “Long live the AWB”.

Members of the rightwing Gelofte Volk, an AWB splinter group, were also present. Leader Andre Visagie said he had mixed feelings about what to expect.

Police and police vans lined the streets surrounding the court. Heavily armed officers stopped family members and media from entering the court until the last minute. Local residents were warmly dressed to fight off the winter chill in the North West town.

Mahlangu and Ndlovu have pleaded not guilty to murder, housebreaking, and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Mahlangu claims he acted in self-defence. Ndlovu has denied involvement in the crime. Both have declined to testify.

“It is probably going to be a long judgment. So prepare yourselves for a long judgment,” Horn told the State and the defence. - Sapa

 Drama at ET judgment 

May 22 2012 12:31

Abram Mashego

The situation turned violent outside the High Court sitting in Ventersdorp on Tuesday for the judgment in the trial of murdered rightwing leader Eugene Terre'Blanche, when an AWB member ‘kicked’ one of the locals.

Physical confrontation took place outside the court when a man (Black) carrying a doll was ‘kicked’ by one of the leaders from the AWB (White).

The two started fighting but police were quick to intervene and both were taken by the police.

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) members wearing camouflage uniforms converged in large number outside the High Court sitting.

The mood on Tuesday morning was very tense, with AWB leaders carrying their flags calling for the independent Afrikaaner state and local community members on the other side of the divide.

A small group of local residents were also gathered outside the court, some started singing "shoot the boer".

Outside the court, AWB Leader Andre Visagie told The New Age that they do not expect the best out of Tuesday’s judgment.

“We will wait for the outcome and if not happy, will utilize all avenues available and if all avenues used and we are not happy we then will use all that we have …….” he said

Andre Visagie said they have all plans in place but said he was not able to share such with media.

Outside the court, AWB leaders carried banners that read: "AWB stood the test of time" and "Long live the AWB".

Chris Mahlangu and a teenager are charged with beating Terre'Blanche to death in his farmhouse outside Ventersdorp in the North West in April 2010.

The judgment continues.

phutim@thenewage.co.za

Farmworker convicted of killing South African white supremacist

May 22, 2012 | 9:51am

Photo: Supporters of the two defendants accused of murdering white supremacist leader Eugene TerreBlanche demonstrate Tuesday outside the courthouse in Ventersdorp, South Africa. Credit: Kim Ludbrook / European Pressphoto Agency.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- A 29-year-old farm worker was convicted Tuesday in the 2010 killing of South African white supremacist Eugene TerreBlanche, but his teenage companion was acquitted in the murder that sparked fears of racial violence.

Chris Mahlangu was convicted of killing TerreBlanche, his employer and a longtime advocate of a separate state for white Afrikaners.

Patrick Ndlovu, 18, who was 15 and present when the crime was committed, was found guilty of housebreaking with intent to steal. The main evidence against him in the murder was ruled inadmissible by the court because police failed to deal with him correctly as a minor.

The killing, coming months before South Africa hosted soccer's World Cup, so raised fears of racial conflict that President Jacob Zuma took the unusual step of issuing a statement in the middle of the night calling for calm.

But while race divisions remain entrenched in South Africa, the TerreBlanche murder case did not become a catalyst for white right-wing violence, as some feared.

TerreBlanche was leader of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, or AWB, which during the apartheid era had advocated independence for Afrikaners. By the time of his death, the group was politically marginalized.

TerreBlanche was found on his bed at his farm in the northwest province, clubbed to death with his pants pulled down. Both men, who surrendered to police after the killing, pleaded not guilty.

The death came after the ruling African National Congress' youth league president, Julius Malema, had popularized the song "Shoot the Boer," a reference to white farmers. After the slaying, AWB leader Andre Visagie threatened revenge, calling it a declaration of war against whites.

But it soon became evident that the killing was related to a dispute over wages rather than politics, and the AWB failed to mobilize support. Malema was later convicted of hate speech over the song and has since been suspended from the ANC for lack of party discipline.

Several thousand farmers have been violently slain since the end of apartheid, some of them by their own workers, some after similar disputes or during robberies. The deaths have prompted some farmers' organizations and anti-crime groups to claim that white farmers in South Africa are victims of "genocide."

The anti-genocide organization Genocide Watch has expressed alarm at the racial polarization of South African society and the killings of white farmers.

The High Court sitting at Ventersdorp, about 90 miles west of Johannesburg, rejected Mahlangu's claim that he was acting in self-defense and his assertion that TerreBlanche attacked him with a machete. Judge John Horn said there was no evidence for the claim. He also rejected Mahlangu's statement that he had been sexually abused by the farmer.

Horn said nothing justified the brutal attack on TerreBlanche.

Dozens of supporters of the accused and TerreBlanche stood outside the court Tuesday, and a scuffle broke out at one point between the two sides. Supporters of the accused sang "Shoot the Boer" and carried placards with slogans such as "Thank you, Mahlangu" according to news agency reports.

The AWB wear military-style khaki uniforms with a swastika-like emblem. The group launched a bomb campaign before the 1994 elections that ended white minority rule. But after the end of apartheid the group gradually faded into obscurity.

TerreBlanche was granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission over attacks launched by the group during apartheid. In 2001, he was convicted in the attempted murder of a security guard and was imprisoned until 2004.