Matric pupil in court over Parys farm killings

26 May 2016 - 13:10 By TMG Digital

A matric pupil from a boarding house at a prominent school in the Free State is due to appear in court on Thursday for taking part in an alleged vigilante attack by farmers that claimed the lives of two men.The pupil was arrested in a dramatic swoop by police‚ members of a tactical reaction team and the Hawks after school on Tuesday‚ according to Netwerk24.He attends the Potchefstroom Gimnasium school‚ which confirmed his arrest‚ along with others‚ on its Facebook page.“We ask that the school and community pray for them so that justice prevails‚” the school said in a message.The pupil has allegedly been linked to the beating of two men - Samuel Tjixa and Simon Jubeba – who were suspected of being involved in a farm attack near Parys on January 6.Farmer Loedie van der Westhuizen‚ 73‚ claimed that he was confronted by two armed men while feedings his dogs and that during an altercation he was assaulted.A large group of local farmers came to his rescue after he activated a panic button‚ and found the two men some distance away from the farm.The two men were allegedly seriously assaulted and handed over to police. Both men subsequently died of their injuries after being taken to hospital.But in a dramatic twist‚ witnesses to the alleged attack have come forward and claimed that the farm attack never took place. A police officer has also been implicated in the incident.The number of people arrested in connection with the attack is at least 10.Some of the men‚ including the matric pupil‚ are due to appear in the Parys Magistrate's Court on Thursday. The other seven are due to appear in court on Friday.Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi told The Times that the case was likely to be postponed to allow police to continue their investigations...

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