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The court saga involving Glencoe-based farmer Garth Simpson continued on Tuesday, 15 February 2022. Moving away from the Glencoe Magistrates’ Court, he appeared in the Estcourt Court.
Simpson faces charges of murder and illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition. This, after he was arrested in September 2021 for the murder of Qiniso Dlamini, a 17-year-old.
According to police, Dlamini was collecting cows that belonged to his family when he was shot in the abdomen and died on Simpson’s property.
However, the civil rights organisation AfriForum, on the other hand, claimed that Simpson was not a murderer but rather a victim of self-defence. This stems from a video showing an altercation between Simpson, Dlamini, and others at the time of the shooting.
As a result, AfriForum has provided legal counsel to the 68-year-old farmer.
The fact that Simpson has been denied bail since the court proceedings began is a significant source of concern for the civil rights organisation. The reasons given for refusing bail are insufficient, according to the organisation.
The court claimed that it denied Simpson’s bail application for various reasons, including his own safety.
While not divulging too much information, KZN Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Natasha Kara, explains that the case has been postponed until 14 March 2022.
While AfriForum was unable to provide information on the full extent of Tuesday’s court appearance at the time of publication, the organisation stated that Simpson was still behind bars.
“He is still not out. His bail was denied, and we have appealed against that,” the organisation stated.
Additionally, AfriForum can confirm that their appeal against Simpson’s denial of bail will be heard on 1 March 2022.
It should be noted that the appeal against the denial of bail and the murder case are separate legal proceedings.
As Garth Simpson waits for the legal proceedings to continue for another month, what are your thoughts?
Share your views in the comment section below.
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3 Responses
There are 2 sides to every story but I have read many cases worse than this where bail was granted he is an old man come on man
I know Garth personally, he’s no murderer, he’s an honest, hard working farmer that has had enough tragedy in his life, he lost his wife of many years, months before this incident, anyone viewing that video can see, that he went out to enquire what the boys were doing on his property, they became aggressive, he fired a warning shot in the air, they approached him to grab his gun, it went off by accident. Garth should have been released on bail months ago. We continue in prayer for the poor man 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Nothing is according to law anymore in this country. It’s according to culture. I am so tired to the bone of this horrible racism. I don’t think it will ever go away as long as the Malema’s are out there. I don’t look at someone and have an immediate hatred for him or her, just because we don’t look the same or speak the same language. This hatred and racism is really one-sided. My heart feels fot this man. I hope justice will be served.