Coligny farmworkers face the music as sentencing gets underway

Sentencing of the two Coligny farmworkers who murdered an alleged sunflower thief is expected to get underway in the North West High Court on Monday.

Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte were convicted in October 2018 of murdering Matlhomola Mosweu. They were also found guilty of his kidnapping, intimidation, theft and pointing a firearm, after a lengthy trial.

The incident happened on April 20 2017.

Sixteen-year-old Mosweu was believed to have been thrown out of a moving bakkie.

Lobby group AfriForum said on Monday it would give legal and financial assistance to the farmworkers.

“This was a very tragic incident, but what has since come to the fore is that the only eyewitness lied and now he is trying to deny that,” AfriForum CEO Kallie Kiel told TimesLIVE on Monday.

“We believe, although this was a very sad incident, that these two men are not guilty of murder and that is why we are going to assist them in their appeal process.” 

Kriel said he hoped justice would prevail.

The state will on Monday lead with three witnesses.

The gallery was packed with family and EFF members. Before proceedings got underway, the two farmworkers hugged and kissed sobbing relatives.

During the trial, the accused disputed the evidence of the sole eyewitness in the case, saying he was not telling the truth when he said he saw them throwing Mosweu from the bakkie.

Their version was that he jumped off the moving vehicle while they were driving to the police station.

Afrikaans Sunday newspaper Rapport revealed earlier in January that the same eyewitness had apparently admitted to lying about his testimony.

The newspaper said it had access to a recording in which Bonakele Pakisi said he lied when he testified against Doorewaard, 27, and Schutte, 34.

A preacher from a town in Mahikeng, Paul Morule, brought the allegations to the fore.

“I was not there when the incident happened. I did not see anything,” Pakisi apparently said in a recording made by Morule.

Morule is employed by Pieter Karsten, who is the uncle of Doorewaard, one of the convicted men.

He said he had met Pakisi through his aunt, who lived in Coligny, and the two had struck up a friendship.

Approached by Rapport for comment, Pakisi said the recording was a set-up by people trying to prove the innocence of the two men.

It was not immediately clear whether these allegations would lead to a fresh court battle.