Police accused of protecting farmer suspected of lynching farm dweller

Witness fears killers will return for him

- By Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

A farmer suspected of the lynching of a farmworker in Mpumalanga before dumping his battered body in the veld like garbage is still a free man because, according to police, a key witness has yet to point him out.

But the dead man's cousin and the said witness, Oupa Mashegoana, disputes this version, telling Sunday World that police were yet to contact him.

He said his nightmare started on August 11, when his cousin James Phetla, known to locals as Malefole, was discovered dead in the bushes in the Maartenshoop farming area near Mashishing (formerly Lydenburg).

His legs were broken, his feet tied, and his head battered. The death was flagged in the certificate as unnatural.

Mashegoana has become suspicious of the police. “As I stated, this is a major cover-up. There does not seem to be any intention to arrest the suspects. I was never contacted to accompany the police to Nelspruit (Mbombela) to point out the suspect. I was only told that investigations were ongoing,” he said.