Farmers accused of Coligny teenager’s death to apply for bail
RUSTENBURG – Two farmers accused of brutally killing a teenage boy in Coligny outside Lichtenburg will apply for bail at the Coligny Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
This was after Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte brought an urgent application in the North West High Court on Monday, requesting the court to grant them an earlier bail application date and for their court appearance to be moved from Coligny to Lichtenburg.
The high court granted this but, refused to move their court appearance from Coligny to Lichtenburg. Their bail application would be heard on Tuesday in Coligny.
The two, facing murder and attempted murder charges, appeared in court for the first time last Friday. Their bail application was postponed to 9 May for a new magistrate to preside over the matter and for an identification parade to be conducted. This was after magistrate Mattheus van Loggerenberg recused himself from the case for safety reasons.
The two are accused of killing 17-year-old Matlhomola Jonas Mosweu on 20 April at Scotland informal settlement in Tlhabologang, Coligny. They accused him of stealing sunflower from their field.
His death sparked a mass violent protest in the small maize-growing town. In a space of a day, three houses and three trucks were torched.
Coligny burning today 😠😠 pic.twitter.com/q7tSoOExr2
— lydia van der merwe (@DerLydia) April 24, 2017
Angry residents shut down the town, looting shops in Voortrekker Street.
His family was only able to identify him on Sunday, through the help of a school principal.
His father Sakkie Dingake, 45, said Matlhomola’s neck was broken and he had a cut under his chin, on his throat and behind the neck. His head was not firm, loosely moving from one side to another, he added.