Garth Simpson, the Glencoe farmer accused of killing a 17-year old neighbour in a dispute over cattle, has been granted bail of R10 000.
This came after he had spent some six months behind bars.
In September last year, Simpson had an exchange with a group of youths who were trying to retrieve cattle that had been impounded on Simpson’s farm. Some of these bore the brand of a former neighbour, reportedly suggesting to Simpson that they might have been stolen, so he refused to turn the cattle over.
In an ensuing scuffle, a shotgun that Simpson had retrieved was discharged and Qiniso Dlamini was killed. Simpson maintains this to have been accidental, while the state has contended it was deliberate.
A cellphone video of the incident captured the disputed events.
Simpson was denied bail in the magistrate’s court in Glencoe, but this matter was taken to the Pietermaritzburg High Court with the support of AfriForum.
The Daily Friend has covered the matter in detail, see here, here, here and here.
[Image: Terence Corrigan]