Alleged killers of black teenager in the dock

TWO MEN accused of killing a teenage boy appeared briefly in the Coligny Magistrate’s Court in North West yesterday.

The case against Pieter Doorewaard, 26, and Phillip Schutte, 34, was postponed to August 7 for a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Magistrate Mattheus van Loggerenberg, who recused himself for safety reasons in April, presided over the case yesterday.

The two are accused of killing Matlhomola Jonas Mosweu, 16, on April 20 at Scotland informal settlement in Coligny after accusing him of stealing sunflowers from their employer’s field. The two claimed they put Mosweu at the back of a van, intending to take him to the police, but, according to them, he jumped out of the moving vehicle and injured his neck.

However, a witness said Mosweu was thrown out of the moving van. He died on his way to hospital.

The men are facing charges of murder and attempted murder for allegedly killing Mosweu and shooting a witness.

Mosweu’s death triggered violent community protests that left a trail of destruction in the small maize-growing town and divided the community. Six houses and three trucks were set alight and several shops looted and damaged.

Yesterday, EFF members chanted “Kill the boer, kill the farmer” as the two left court.

Mosweu’s father, Sakkie Dingake, said he wanted the matter to be finalised as quickly as possible.

He constantly asked the accused to hold their heads up, before the court proceeding started. “Hold your head up, why are you hiding?” he asked them.

In court, Dingake and his wife, Agnes Mosweu, were seated diagonally opposite the accused’s family.

On Thursday, the North West High Court set aside the State’s application to appeal magistrate Makgaola Foso’s decision to grant Doorewaard and Schutte each R5 000 bail.

Hold your heads up. Why are you hiding?