The attorney of murder accused Johan Nel is to apply for his client to be sent for a psychiatric evaluation.
Frikkie Pretorius told reporters on Thursday that at his client’s next court appearance on February 12 he would apply for Nel to be sent to Weskoppies for psychiatric and mental evaluation.
”We are in the process of appointing a criminologist, psychiatrist and psychologist.”
Pretorius said Nel had been treated well and ”fortunately he is feeling calm”.
Nel appeared briefly in the Swartruggens Magistrate’s Court at about 9.30am in connection with the murder of four people and the attempted murder of six others in a shooting incident in the Skielik informal settlement last Monday.
It is alleged that Nel left a Swartruggens farm last Monday and drove 10km out of town to Skielik. There he allegedly gunned down 10 people, killing four.
The victims were 35-year-old Sivuyile Danaani, 10-year-old Enoch Tshepo Motshelanoka, and three-month-old baby Keditlhotse Elizabeth Moithitlhi and her 31-year-old mother, Anna Moithitlhi.
Nel, wearing a blue T-shirt and grey pants, had his hands and feet cuffed as he stood in the court dock on Thursday.
He leaned over the dock as magistrate Andre Kleynhans addressed the court and smiled at photographers who took pictures outside the court.
During court proceedings Kleynhans appealed to the families of the victims to ”keep a level head”.
”I wish to appeal to people to let justice run its course and let the court do its work.”
The magistrate postponed the trial to February 12. At the end of proceedings, Nel was escorted by police into a van waiting at the back of the court house.
African National Congress MP Louisa Mabe said: ”We are happy that the concerns we had last week of interpretation were addressed.”
Mabe said he was happy the trial would be moved to a high court because everyone who was part of the system in Swartruggens were white whereas the victims’ families were all black.
”I maintain this is a racial issue,” Mabe said.
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said his organisation supported the court’s call for calm.
”It is unfortunate that the people are being incited by race,” he said.
There should be no double standards. Politicians did not react when Frans Pieterse was killed by a black man in Swartruggens.
”We condemn all murders strongly,” he said.
Kriel said AfriForum had lodged a complaint with the human rights commission that race tension was being incited by hate speech.
He said farmers were worried about what effect accusations of racism would have on relationships in the community.
Speaking outside the court, North West provincial minister of safety and security Phenye Vilakazi said the murders were racially motivated. He said there was ”no other explanation”.
Nel was driven away from the Swartruggens courthouse at about 10.30am as protesters threw stones and cans at the armoured police vehicle he was in.
Minutes earlier the crowd that had gathered outside the courthouse broke down the main gate and was forcefully pushed aside by riot police.
They were chanting: ”We want Nel!” — Sapa