*Article has been updated
Coligny – Two North West farm workers accused of killing a teenager in Coligny were on Monday granted bail of R5 000 each.
The families of the accused shook hands after the accused were granted bail.
The court ordered that the men hand over their passports and stay at their alternative addresses.
The magistrate said there was no evidence the two would not stand trial and there was no doubt that the two would abide by condition imposed by the court.
“The bail amount of R20 000 the two intend to pay is far more than reasonable than is required in this case. This is indication they intend to stand trial. They intended to plead not guilty,” he said.
The magistrate further said there was no link between the accused and a key eyewitness, stating that the court could not be held to ransom.
Pieter Doorewaard, 26, and Phillip Schutte, 34, are accused of killing Matlhomola Jonas Mosweu, 16, of Scotland informal settlement on April 20. They alleged they caught him stealing sunflowers at a field near Scotland informal settlement.
They put him at the back of a van, allegedly intending to hand him over to the police, but according to them he jumped out of the van whilst it was in motion a few kilometres from town and suffered neck injuries.
He died a short while later. The two went to the police to report the incident, but allegedly refused to take the police to the scene of the accident. However, an eyewitness told the police Matlhomola, also known as Faki, was pushed or thrown out of the moving van.
His death sparked a mass protest that left a trail of destruction in Coligny, as three houses and three trucks were torched, while several shops were looted and damaged. Faki was buried in Coligny on Sunday.
Coligny was on a knife edge on Monday, ahead of the bail ruling. The SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) led a march from Tlhabologang to the town's magistrate's court to protest against bail being granted to the accused pair. A large contingent of police had been deployed around the court on Monday morning.
ANA and IOL