Staff Reporter
Free State police have arrested a 33-year-old businessman from Senekal in connection with a case of public violence which occurred early this month at the Senekal Magistrates Court.
The incident which took place on October 6 when a group of farmers clashed with the police at the court.
The farmers had thronged the court to see the two men accused of murdering a farm manager, Brendon Horner, as they made their first appearances in court.
The situation turned ugly when some of the farmers forced their way into court after it adjourned, demanding that the accused, Sekwetje Isaiah Mahlamba, 32, and Sebolai Piet Matlaletsa, 44, be handed over to them.
Some court property was damaged and a police vehicle was torched during the fracas in which shots were fired inside court by the farmers, damaging some glass panels.
Police say the suspect, who was arrested yesterday, will make an initial court appearance Monday facing charges of public violence, arson, malicious injury to property and attempted murder.
To date, only Andre Pienaar, a 52-year-old farmer from Marquard, has been arrested in connection with the incident.
He has already appeared in court and remains in custody after his attempt to be released on bail failed.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a 26-year-old man is expected to appear at the Parys Magistrates Court on Monday for the alleged murder of his 14-year-old girlfriend, Edwinah Bolosha.
According to the police, the deceased was last seen by her uncle on Saturday, October 10 at about 8pm when she was going to sleep over at a friend’s house.
But five days later on October 15, the uncle reported the girl missing at Tumahole Police Station.
Police immediately launched a search for the missing teenager and preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased was last seen with her boyfriend.
Edwinah’s body was eventually found in an open veld under a huge pile of rocks, about a kilometre from her home.
A case of murder was registered and the boyfriend was arrested.
A postmortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
The uncle, according to the police, indicated that he did not report Edwinah missing earlier because it was not the first time she had stayed away from home for days without informing anyone of her whereabouts.
Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane urged parents and guardians not to disregard the disappearance of their children given that in similar incidents the children, mostly girls, were reported missing and later found dead.
“In other instances they returned home safely but we can’t take chances where our children are involved,” said Motswenyane in a statement.