At the second appearance of accused Skielik murderer Johan Nel this week in Swartruggens, it was clear that racial tensions in the town had not died down.
His appearance at the town’s magistrate’s court attracted different groups, each with its own agenda. Local politicians insisted that Nel’s shooting spree was a ‘racially charged†crime.
Among those present at the court were provincial minister Phengo Vilakazi, representatives from Parliament, ANC members, Cosatu affiliates, AfriForum representatives and other social interest groups such as the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission.
Nel is accused of gunning down 10 people in Skielik informal settlement, killing four.
Magistrate Andre Kleynhans postponed his trial to February 12. Nel’s defence attorney, Frikkie Pretorius, told reporters the next step was to apply to the court for Nel to undergo psychological evaluation.
Kleynhans appealed to family members of the deceased to be patient with the proceedings.
‘It is natural that emotion plays a role in the hearts of many— [I] appeal to all in the court, listening to the news or reading articles to remain calm. I wish to appeal to all to keep level heads. I wish to appeal to people to let justice run its course. Let the court do its work.†Kleynhans was uncertain of what the charges were at this stage, but had ‘no doubt†that the serious nature of the crime meant the case would be referred to a high court.
About 100 demonstrators outside Swartruggens Magistrate’s Court chanted ‘we want Nelâ€, and pulled the courthouse’s security gate off its hinges, forcing police to hold it up manually to keep the crowd at bay. Nel had to be driven out of the grounds in an armoured vehicle, which was followed by a hail of stones from the protesters.
Afterwards politicians present were quick to point to the racial nature of the crime.
‘[The Swartruggens shooting] should not be happening — we can’t have [anyone] running around marauding our people, we can’t allow that to go on. We must take on the national question of doing away with racism in all its forms,†said Vilakazi, who did not doubt that the shooting was racially motivated.
‘I maintain that this is a racial issue — why [would Nel] leave whites and go to the black areas?†he said.
Louisa Mabe, chairperson of the parliamentary budget commission and deployed by the ANC to the region, said: ‘Unfortunately some feel this is just a criminal issue. We feel this is a racial issue — we understand racism better. We’ve experienced it all this time.â€
Crime action group AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel said local politicians were employing ‘double standards†to ‘push a political agendaâ€. He also lodged a charge of hate speech with the Human Rights Commission against comments made by politicians in the past two weeks.
‘The Constitution says that everyone has the right to be free from violence. That means everyone. It means the people of Skielik but it also means Pieterse [a farm attack victim in the area] and it means thousands of other farmers. More than 2 000 farm murders in the last decade are unacceptable,†he said.
Cosatu provincial secretary Solly Phetoe said Cosatu had a very positive ‘impact on getting the court to take the matter seriouslyâ€. Cosatu brought in busloads of its members to attend the proceedings and show solidarity with the people of Skielik.
Attendees travelled from the anger and frustration of the court house to Skielik, the site of the killings, for a memorial service. Amid the singing and compassionate embraces, Chae-rian Kocheapen, headmaster of Ma-zista intermediate school where victim Tshepo Motshelanoka was a pupil, said: ‘You can’t believe the feeling of the community … we are crying. All of us are crying.â€
Additional reporting by Yolandi Groenewald