ED STODDARD, Sasolburg | Friday
BLACK protesters and police have clashed outside a Sasolburg court after a magistrate remanded a white man accused of dragging a black employee to his death behind a truck for psychiatric tests in a secret hearing.
Businessman Pieter Odendaal, 44, had been scheduled to appear before a Sasolburg court this week, but the hearing was held in secret last Friday, a court official said.
Construction boss Odendaal is accused of tying an employee Mosoko Rampuru, 37, to the back of his pick-up truck then dragging him five kilometres to his death last month. The trail of blood was visible for days afterwards.
At an appearance earlier this month, Odendaal was not asked to enter a plea. His lawyer said Odendaal did not remember killing Rampuru on the night of August 25 and that a mixture of alcohol and medication may have resulted in memory loss.
Hundreds of black protesters who came hoping to catch a glimpse of the accused vented their frustration by throwing stones and sticks at riot police who guarded the court house.
”We wanted to see this man’s face so if they release him we can track him down and kill him,” one man said. Another held up a sign calling for the return of the death penalty.
An official from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) criticised the court’s handling of the case.
”Mr. Odendaal’s family was apparently informed about the change in his court appearance but the public was not. Nor was the victim’s family and this is a disgrace,” said Moses Makume of the ANC in Sasolburg.
Makume called for a judge from outside Sasolburg to be brought in to hear the case because the black community was not convinced that justice would be served under a local magistrate.
He said racism was still rife in Sasolburg, a conservative, industrial city south of Johannesburg. – Reuters
28