POLICE were forced to separate confrontational black and white South Africans yesterday outside the first court appearance of two farm labourers charged with murdering white supremacist Eugene Terre’Blanche (69) last Saturday.
Racial tensions ran high outside the magistrate’s court in the North Western province town of Ventersdorp, where the two men accused of murdering Mr Terre’Blanche appeared, with both ethnic groups hurling race- based insults at each other ahead of the hearing.
A number of white people waved old apartheid-era flags and called on African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema to refrain from singing a liberation song they believe encouraged the suspects to murder Mr Terre’Blanche.
But the controversial Mr Malema has refused to back down, and he told South African radio yesterday that he would continue to sing the liberation song that contains the lyrics Shoot the Boer (white farmer). “Police must investigate; they must look for the person who killed Terre’Blanche. We have nothing to do with his death,” he said.
The leader of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) – the fringe right-wing white separatist party – was bludgeoned to death at his farm house, allegedly over unpaid wages. The two accused handed themselves in to police on the night of the killing.
Yesterday’s preliminary hearing was held in camera.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) advocate George Baloyi said afterwards that the accused, Chris Mahlangu (28), and a minor, who cannot be named, were formally charged with murder, house-breaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The case was postponed until April 14th. Neither of the accused has entered a plea in response to the charges.
President Jacob Zuma and opposition parties have appealed for calm twice over the past few days, for fear the men’s court appearance would act as a lightning rod for racial confrontation.
Police chiefs have visited the Terre’Blanche family to assure them everything would be done to bring the killers to justice.
Yesterday, the AWB also urged members not to retaliate over the killing of its leader. Spokesperson Pieter Steyn said an earlier call for revenge by an “emotional” member had been withdrawn.
“There is nothing to fear. We are sad and heartbroken but there will be no revenge,” he said.
The AWB, the popularity of which has waned significantly over the last 10 years because of its militant views, has received 3,000 requests for new membership, he said, such was the outrage over Mr Terre’Blanche’s murder among the Afrikaans farming community.
Despite the pleas for calm, police were forced to form a barricade between the two ethnic groups outside the court after a white woman threw a bottle of water at black people from the surrounding townships, and clashes appeared likely.
Mr Terre’Blanche will be buried at his farm house on Friday.