DURBAN - A 68-year-old KwaZulu-Natal farm owner is expected to appear in the Glencoe Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for murder.
The farmer is accused of shooting Qiniso Dlamini, 17, in the abdomen on Tuesday on the farm. Dlamini died at the scene.
Provincial police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said a murder case was being investigated by Glencoe police. The area is a farming community, near Dundee, in the Umzinyathi District of the KZN Midlands.
Dlamini’s family are calling for a thorough investigation into the murder and for justice to be served. His uncle, Doctor Ngcobo, said the youth had gone to fetch cows had allegedly been locked inside the farm. Ngcobo said the cows belonged to the family and some community members.
“He went there with seven others, but the farmer allegedly shot and killed him,” said Ngcobo.
Qiniso was a Grade 10 pupil at Sebenzakusakhanya High School in Sithembile township, Glencoe, and had wanted to become a lawyer.
Ngcobo said they would fondly remember Qiniso for his jokes, which always left them in stitches.
“From the age of nine, he became a jockey. He was also a hunter and tended to the livestock. We have suffered a great loss,” the uncle said.
Sandy la Marque, chief executive of agricultural union Kwanalu, said they had taken note of the incident. She said it was imperative that law and order be respected, and that everyone was afforded an equal opportunity to represent their case in this matter.
“Kwanalu has been proactive in this regard and has already undertaken numerous engagements, and is working on initiatives towards social cohesion,” La Marque said.
“Laws are in place to provide legal parameters and protection, and the laws must be applied.”
In April 2021, in Mpumalanga, four farmers who were suspects in the murder of two brothers appeared in the Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court.
They were accused of shooting and killing two brothers, Zenzele and Amos Coka, on the Pampoenkraal farm.
The two brothers were allegedly part of a group of farm dwellers who went to seek employment, as they were seasonal farmworkers. The incident caused a public outcry and is still before the court.
There has been a spate of farm killings, some of which prompted visits by Police Minister Bheki Cele. The farming community of Normandien, near Newcastle, raised concerns about farm murders, at the fatal shootings of Glen Rafferty and his wife Vida in front of their farmhouse. In Karkloof, Trevor Murphy died of multiple stab wounds after a robbery at his Wendover farm.
Daily News