Kotzé: Protests outside Modimolle court
2012-01-13 09:23
Modimolle - ANC Women's League members sang liberation songs outside the Modimolle Magistrate's Court on Friday ahead of the appearance of Johan Kotzé.
Kotzé, 50, is accused of orchestrating an attack on his estranged wife and of killing her teenage son.
"Senzeni na? Senzeni na? (What have we done?)," they sang. They also waved posters calling for Kotzé to be denied bail.
"Geen borg, geen genade vir die monster (no bail, no mercy for the monster)," read a poster.
They were angered at what Kotzé had allegedly done, said ANCWL Waterberg treasurer Joy Matshoge.
'Very angry'
"We are very angry. We call on the court not to grant him bail," she said.
"Violence has no colour or race - we are here to support the woman."
She said the ANCWL was also angry that Kotzé had taken advantage of poor, unemployed men, promising them jobs and later allegedly forcing them to attack his wife.
"He is a devil," she said.
Matshoge said the law should be fair towards them and take into consideration that they had not intended committing the crime.
The house in Church street where the attack took place was deserted on Friday morning. A lone dog walked past the locked gate.
"This is the house," people rushing to work said, pointing to the building.
A manhunt was launched for Kotzé when he fled in a white Toyota Fortuner after the alleged attack at his home on January 4.
A local woman recognised Kotzé while he bought food at a shop and called the police. He was arrested in the town on Wednesday.
A search was also conducted for the three men he allegedly forced at gunpoint to attack his estranged wife. They ran away afterwards, but one of them, a 42-year-old man, was arrested on Wednesday in Makapanstad near Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria.
He was also expected to appear in the Modimolle Magistrate's Court on Friday. The two other men were still at large.
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- SAPA
