Killing of Brendin Horner

Horner was reported missing on 1 October 2020 by his girlfriend.[2] After searching throughout the night[3] he was found after daybreak on the 2nd of October by his father, Robbie, and colleague Jaco Kleingeld. A knife placed on top of Horner's cap led them to his body,[2] which was found some 400 metres from his home on the DeRots farm outside Paul Roux. Horner was found tied to a metal fence post with a girdle and a woven, black rope around his neck.[1] He had stab wounds to his head, face,[2] shoulder, arm and hands,[4] and appeared to have been tortured and strangled. Horner had injuries to his fists, which suggested that he fought back, and scrape marks on his body which suggested that he was dragged on the ground.[4] The police was then called to the scene.[3] The autopsy indicated strangulation as the cause of death.[4]

At 19:45 on Thursday evening, when Horner was likely dead, security camera footage placed his Toyota Hilux pickup truck at Fateng Tse Ntsho township in Paul Roux.[1] The next morning the pickup truck was found 15 km away at Duikfontein farm,[2] along the N5 route to Bethlehem.[1] Blood stains believed to be that of three different men were found in the vehicle.[4] The morning after the murder, witnesses noticed three men with blood-stained clothes arriving from a mountain in the vicinity of the murder scene.[4] On the 3rd of October police arrested two suspects, Sekwetje Isaiah Mahlamba (32) and Sekola Piet Matlaletsa (44) at Fateng tse Ntsho, a township outside Paul Roux. Their clothes and shoes were bloodstained and were sent for forensic tests.[5][6]

Magistrate Buti Mlangeni denied bail to André Pienaar (51) who allegedly incited unrest when proceedings commenced on 6 October, finding that Pienaar would likely interfere with witnesses and jeopardise the administration of justice.[7] The Free State High Court overturned the ruling however, and set Pienaar's bail at R15,000. Judge Deon van Rooyen found that a prima facie case existed against Mahlamba, who was not released on bail.[8] Mahlamba was seen arriving from the direction of the crime scene during the early hours of the 2nd, and had allegedly boasted about assaulting a white man at a farm. Bloodstained clothes were also found at his home.[9] Matlaletsa, who has a long list of previous convictions, was released on bail as the state did not have a strong case against him. He was hardly out of custody however, before he was arrested again on an unrelated stock theft charge.[8]

Horner's killing was condemned by agricultural groups.[10] The Freedom Front Plus released a statement in which they condemned the killing of Horner.[11] The Democratic Alliance welcomed the arrests of the two suspects.[12] Lobby group AfriForum called farm attacks a "form of terrorism".[13]