Ventersdorp - A life-size black effigy hung from a tree, dressed in a yellow T-shirt inscribed with the name “Chris Mahlangu”.
Red gloves symbolised the savage killing of Eugene Terre’Blanche.
“Hang boer killer! Hang Mahlangu”, screamed placards mounted on cars parked outside the Ventersdorp Circuit Court in North West as the old Transvaal flag, known as the Vierkleur, flapped in the wind.
But the death sentence has been scrapped, dying with the apartheid era and erased from the SA criminal justice system the year Mahlangu’s young co-accused, Patrick Ndlovu, was born.
So Judge John Horn slapped Mahlangu with a life sentence for the murder of the man who led the white supremacist Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, and a further 15 years for breaking into Terre’Blanche’s home and robbing him.
“You [Mahlangu] have committed a heinous crime for which you must be punished. For these crimes, the only appropriate sentence will be that prescribed by the legislature,” said Judge Horn.
He called Terre’Blanche’s murder cruel and premeditated.
“The purpose was to rob the deceased and evidently to kill him. You calculated and armed yourself with an iron rod, broke into the house and killed the deceased while he was peacefully asleep on his bed.
“You invaded the sanctity of the deceased’s home and killed him in the most savage and cruel way,” said Judge Horn.
As news of the ruling filtered outside to members of the AWB breakaway faction, the Gelofde Volk, a marching band they had brought along trumpeted Afrikaans songs before dragging the effigy behind a 4x4 bakkie around the small farming town.
The men whistled while their women laughed and clapped in jubilation as Gey van Pittius – a general of the organisation’s military wing – drove around with the caricature depicting Mahlangu.
This raised the ire of a small group of Tshing residents gathered across the road, who chanted the banned Dubhul’ibunu (Shoot the boer).
Police quickly intervened, although Van Pittius was allowed to continue driving the caricature around.
“It was a very bad day in this country to remove the death sentence. The fact that South Africa has the highest crime rates in the world is explained by the fact that the death penalty was taken away,” said the leader of the Gelofdevolk, Andre Visagie.
The organisation would challenge the judge’s ruling as they were not pleased with the fact that no conditions were set for Mahlangu’s sentence.
They want conditions to be attached to avoid a situation where Mahlangu will be paroled before serving the full 25 years.
Terre’Blanche’s wife Martie said she was “still too emotional to talk”. But a social worker who assessed Ndlovu had also visited the family. He said in his report that Terre’Blanche’s wife “saw no light” and wanted the case closed so that she could find closure.
Ndlovu, who was acquitted for the murder but convicted on a housebreaking with intent to rob charge, was sentenced to two years suspended for five years, provided he did not commit a similar crime.
Judge Horn considered his age, the circumstances in which he was raised and the fact that he was only 15 when the offence was committed during the 2010 Easter weekend.
“I’m satisfied that your case is somewhat unique and does not require a sledgehammer approach,” he told Ndlovu.
“Moreover, you have expressed genuine remorse, shown signs of rehabilitation and, most importantly, you have been in custody for two years and three months. For these reasons, I believe your situation deserves a non-custodial prison sentence,” he said, adding it “is not a case of going soft on crime”, but of dealing with each case individually.
The Star