'Murder suspect was released'

2001-03-27 20:03

Sam Mkokeli and Percy Callaghan

Bisho - The arrested man Elliot farmers suspect did the shooting in the slaying of farming couple Kevin James McGregor, 40, and his wife Lou McGregor, 47, was on Sunday night linked to a previous farm killing in the area.

A furious chairman of the Elliot Farmers' Association, Selby Vorster, claimed on Tuesday that the suspect had been released by the courts after being linked to a farm killing in the nearby Maclear area.

Selby said farmers were outraged when they learned that the man - whose name has not been released - was among seven arrested by Tuesday in connection with the killing on Sunday night.

What infuriated his association was that the suspect had on his release brought a charge against the police for abusing his civil rights.

Vorster said the man was arrested on Monday after Elliot township residents had tipped the police off. This was confirmed by police.

Vorster said the tip-off was part of the government's rural safety plan which had been implemented in the area and which was working "well".

He said the view on Tuesday of Eastern Cape police commissioner Wilson Thoba - whose office is currently "revisiting" the rural safety plan - that the plan was not functioning in the area, was not true.

Quick arrests a 'direct result' of plan

He said the quick arrests were a direct result of community participation in the plan which was promoted during a visit to the district recently by Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza.

He said the commando system manned by farmers was in place and was supplemented by private security firms, and they were working well with the local police and communities.

Toba's spokesperson Senior Superintendent Mills said the police were "extremely concerned" about the farm murders and are "revisiting" the rural safety plan.

Mills said the Democratic Alliance's call that Toba appoint a special task team to probe the murders would be discussed in a senior management meeting on Wednesday.

She said the continued murders made it clear that the current rural safety plan was not sufficient, and police were presently seeking ways to improve it by looking at it from a different perspective, and seeing who else could be put on board to help curb the murders.

Farmers felt that the courts were not being hard enough on suspects who they believed were getting bail for serious crimes or simply being released, said Vorster. - ECN

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