ET wanted to sodomise me, says accused

"My instructions from my client are that there was some sodomy going on and it sparked the murder of Mr Terre Blanche. This is going to form part of our defence during trial," said Puna Moroko, attorney for 28-year-old Chris Mahlangu.

Mahlangu's co-accused is a 15-year-old boy who cannot be named.

Terre Blanche's hacked and bludgeoned body - with his pants down to his knees - was found on a bed in his Ventersdorp farm last Saturday.

The two farm workers handed themselves over to police that evening.

Moroko said his client's defence would be that the attack on Terre Blanche was triggered by sodomy. Earlier reports suggested a wage dispute may have lead to the gruesome killing.

Moroko also claimed that Terre Blanche first tried to get the accused drunk before he allegedly tried to have sex with "one or both of them".

"It is in the court record that Mr Terre Blanche bought my client 18 Savannas (cider) and the other accused, who is still a minor, 13 Savannas before driving them to his farm. Mr Terre Blanche bought himself a bottle of Smirnoff (vodka) at the same liquor store."

He said the state's version is that the two had gone to Terre Blanche's home in Röth Street to "borrow money".

Terre Blanche was not at his home, but his wife Martie allegedly called him and he told her that he had informed the workers that he would pay them after the long weekend.

Moroko said Terre Blanche drove to his house where he picked up the two accused and the three of them went to the bottle store and later to the farm about 10km away.

Attorney Zola Majavu, who is acting for the teenager, said: "I have consulted with my client and I am satisfied that something shocking happened on that day. I will disclose fully what my client told me happened during trial."

Majavu would not comment on the sexual allegations, but said his client "has undergone all the necessary tests that I need to prove his case.

"I have also appointed a team of private investigators to assist me in gathering more information that I believe might be relevant to my client's defence."

On Friday, police spokesman Captain Adele Myburgh said: "The court will decide why Mr Terre Blanche was killed as well as why his trousers were below his knees. The court will also establish what exactly happened before he was killed."

Yesterday she said: "An autopsy was done. It will reveal if the deceased was sexually assaulted.

"Tests were done on the suspects, they might not have been on a J88-form (used to record details of a medical examination after an alleged rape or other sexual abuse has occurred), but hair, blood and other samples were taken."

When asked about earlier reports of a used condom being found at the scene, Myburgh said: "I can say with 100% certainty that no condom, used or otherwise, was found."

The teenager and Mahlangu were arrested last Saturday night after they called police about the murder.

The two accused - who in addition to murder, face charges of housebreaking, robbery, and crimen injuria as a result of leaving their victim half-naked after the attack - have yet to plead.

They are scheduled to appear in the Ventersdorp Magistrate's Court on Wednesday for a formal bail application. The matter will be heard in camera to protect the teenager.

Residents of Ventersdorp reacted with shock yesterday to the claims of sexual assault.

A relative of the accused minor said: "I don't want to comment; I know nothing about that."

A woman said: "No, that's impossible. He was a boer."

A local businesswoman, who provides services to the Terre Blanche family, said: "I really don't think it's possible, but if it is so it's not right because you don't do such things to children no matter what race."

An elderly man, while waiting for his wife outside a supermarket said: "I don't believe it."

Another woman was even more blunt in her opinion of the claims: "That's sh***.

"I've lived here for seven years, we attend church together," she said. That's sh***."