According to the NPA spokesperson, Phaladi Shuping, they respect the judgment made by the court because it was clearly explained. They were relying on witnesses’ testimonies when they placed this case in the courtroom. Unfortunately, when the witnesses took the stand, they sang a different tune.

Shuping explained that the evidence that was presented before the court was unfortunately not enough to put the two suspects behind bars. He believed the state had a strong case, but after the DNA came back negative, their best bet was to use witnesses’ statements as evidence.

The court has acquitted two men accused of the brutal murder of young farm manager Brendin Horner on all counts, which included murder and robbery. The judge cited a lot of inconsistencies from the witness statements and a lack of material evidence against Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa. The case against the two started to fall apart during a week-long trial at the Circuit High Court sitting in Bethlehem, outside Paul Roux, where Horner was murdered in October 2020. Mahlamba and Matlaletsa faced three counts, which also included stock theft, on a separate case which was added later to their indictment. Musi says statements from witnesses gave false testimonies and were, at best, contradictory.

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