Sipho Mabena Three of the accused were released on bail despite being suspects in another double murder case on the same farm in April this year. Protestors outside the Piet Retief Magistrate s Court during the bail hearing for the five accused in the case in which the Coka brothers were shot and killed on 19 April 2021. Picture: Jacques Nelles At least three witnesses in the cases of two double farm murders in Piet Retief in Mpumalanga have been placed under witness protection programme for their safety, with the local farm dwellers organisation interdicted from inciting violence. Also Read: Coka brothers murder suspects arrested for another double farm murder This after eight suspects arrested and charged with the murder of Cousins Musa Nene, 34, and Sifiso Thwala, 39, were released on R10,000 bail each on appeal
Sipho Mabena Cousins Musa Nene, 34 and Sifiso Thwala 39 were beaten to death, with the latter’s brother, Sthembiso (32) barely hanging to life to tell the grisly tale. The five accused appearing in the Piet Retief Magistrates court during their bail hearing in the case where the Coka brothers were shot and killed, 19 April 2021, Mkhondo, Mpumalanga. Picture: Jacques Nelles Three of the suspects arrested by Mpumalanga police in a dramatic swoop in Piet Retief on Friday in connection with the murder of two black farm dwellers in August, are the same men who were out on bail for the April murder of the Coka brothers. Cousins Musa Nene, 34 and Sifiso Thwala 39 were beaten to death, with the latter’s brother, Sthembiso (32) barely hanging to life to tell the grisly tale. Also Read: NPA mum over probe into double farm
Sipho Mabena The brothers were sprinkled with goat’s gall and each were buried with the gall bladder, which would connect them with their ancestors, in a ritual that took hours. Zenzele Coka and his brother Mgcini Coka s caskets are set down at their village on Pampoen Kraal farm, 17 April 2021, Mkhondo, Mpumalanga. Picture: Jacques Nelles In a poignant and intense moment on an overcast Saturday morning, the Coka brothers, killed in a farm shooting in Mpumalanga, were returned to Pampoenkraal farm where they died. Each of the brothers, Zenzele, 39, and Mgcini, 36, in their identical coffins, were placed on the very spot where each fell, with their elder brother, Samuel, 46, holding a tree branch to carry their spirits. An entourage of eleven family men took turns telling the brothers, with their coffins resting