South African police on Tuesday said they have capacity to deal with any eventuality when two black men accused of murdering Eugene Terre’Blanche appear in court Wednesday.
Terr’eBlanche was gruesomely killed two weeks ago at his farm; a situation that heightened racial hatred.
Police spokesperson Musa Zondi is quoted saying “Police have the
capacity to deal with crowds especially around high profile cases and
tomorrow (Wednesday) they will deploy accordingly to ensure that the
court process is not disturbed. “We will ensure the safety of all those who will be there” he added.
At the last court appearance of the two accused, a man aged 28, and a
teenage boy, aged 15, police had to separate black and white groups
with razor wire when tensions mounted outside the court.
Hundreds converged on the court’s doorstep, including the international media.
The accused faced charges of murder, housebreaking and robbery with
aggravating circumstances, crimen injuria and attempted robbery with
aggravating circumstances.
Terre’Blanche, 69, was found murdered April 3 on his farm outside Ventersdorp.
It was initially thought that a dispute over unpaid wages was behind
the killing, but information soon emerged that his death could be
sexually related.
Homosexual link
South African police are investigating allegations that Terre’Blanche
was killed after attempting to sexually assault the two men.
Several media reports say used condoms where found at the murder
scene. Terre’blanche’s body was found by detectives with his pants
pulled down and his genitals exposed.
A background of Terre’Blanche in the 1980s reveal that he was once
accused of sexually assaulting a teenage member of the AWB, who said
he awoke after a night of heavy partying to find Terre’Blanche on top
of him, trying to molest him.
These allegations have led to speculation that Terre’Blanche was a
latent homosexual – described as a sexual attraction to the same sex
without overt action, reports say.
The funeral of the AWB leader was held last Friday amid tight security.
