New twist in Mkhondo farm killings

The new twist in the killing of two Mkhondo farm dwellers in Mpumalanga last week is that one of the deceased was employed at the farm for five years and was working on the day he and his brother were gunned down.

According to the statement given to police, the brothers, Mgcini Coko, 36, and Zenzele Coko, 39, were at the Pampoenkraal Farm in Mkhondo, last week as part of a group seeking seasonal work.

But their mother, Nomgcibelo Vilakazi, said Zenzele had left his job in Johannesburg five years ago to work at the farm.

“I still cannot understand how you kill someone who works for you for so long. I was happy when he came back, to work closer to home because we are told Johannesburg is dangerous. He died where we thought he was safe,” she said.

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Vilakazi, 72, said Zenzele was the breadwinner to the impoverished family of 11 and was paying her medical bills as she had been sickly for some time.

The family is so destitute that the entire costs of the funeral, due to be held on Saturday, had to be covered by the Mkhondo local municipality, neighbours and relatives.

The municipality also had to provide a mattress on which Vilakazi sat on in the candle-lit rondavel as tradition to mourn her sons.

Anger and sorrow was written all over the faces of relatives, neighbours and friends of the two slain brothers as they went about preparing for the brothers’ final send-off at the family homestead.

Tension is so palpable in the area, particularly at the nearby more densely populated Dirkieskop township, with talks of burning down the farm prevalent.

Ngwenya Nhlapho, who worked with Zenzele at the farm, said he started off looking after livestock and then he was put on the group responsible for maintaining the perimeter fence.

“I work on the other part of the farm so I do not know how he [Zenzele] ended up getting shot. We are all left with lots of questions, which creates more anger,” he said.

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He said all portions of the farm had been deserted after the threats of burning it down, saying only those responsible for looking after animals remained at the farm.

“People, even us who work there, are also scared to go near the farm because we do not know what is happening when one of our co-workers is amongst the dead,” Nhlapho said.

Zenzele’s fiancée, Noluvuyo Manjingilo, said her three children, aged between four and 13, were battling to come to terms with their father’s tragic death.

“He was everything to them and he worked hard to ensure that they have the basic needs. What do I do now?” she asked.

The family on Friday requested police to escort them to the farm’s living quarters to collect Zenzele’s belongings.

Daniel Malan, 38, Cornelius Greyling, 26, Othard Clingberg, 58, and Michael Sternberg, 31, have each been charged with two counts of murder and one of assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily.

On Monday, the Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court postponed their matter to Monday for further investigation and a formal bail application.

siphom@citizen.co.za