A white South African farmer, facing charges of murdering a six-month-old black baby, appeared in court in Benoni yesterday. Mr Nicholas Steyn (43) was remanded in custody until a further hearing on Friday, but the legalities of his case were overshadowed by political manoeuvring away from the court.
The President, Mr Nelson Mandela, who expressed shock and outrage at the killing on Sunday, visited the baby's family at their shack outside Benoni, near Johannesburg. The baby's mother is employed by Mr Steyn's father at the white family's adjacent farm.
"This is a terrible disaster for the parents and for those who are trying to ensure that we have a united nation with peace, in which we all live as brothers and sisters," Mr Mandela said after visiting the family. The president was upstaged by his former wife, Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who arrived before him at the family's smallholding to sympathise with the baby's mother.
Ms Madikizela-Mandela had earlier arrived at the court hearing, to the cheers of around 200 people who had gathered outside the courthouse to vent their anger at the killing.
The baby, Angelina Zwane, was shot in the head as she was being carried on the back of her cousin, Ms Francina Dlamini (11), as she walked across Mr Steyn's farmland on Saturday. Ms Dlamini was shot in the chest and critically wounded.
A police spokesman said on Monday that Mr Steyn told police he opened fire with his handgun when he saw people moving in his cultivated fields. Mr Steyn is expected to apply for bail on Friday, but local police authorities indicated yesterday they would oppose the application.
Mrs Rebecca Wilskei (68), the children's grandmother, said the farmer came to her house shortly after the shooting and threatened to kill the rest of the family if he was sent to jail.
The case highlights a major issue in South Africa - violence on farms and other rural property. White farmers complain the government fails to protect them from constant attacks, while many black farm workers and their families say they are continuously abused by landowners and employers.