IN-DEPTH
Coligny’s sad seeds were sown in apartheid and are still growing
In the deeply divided farming town of Coligny, one fact underlines the vastly differing narratives of a tragedy that is, without exception, based on the skin colour of the person telling the tale: a 16-year-old boy is dead. In the aftermath of this event in April, the town centre was almost reduced to ashes. More than two months after Matlhomola Moshoeu’s life was cut short, farmer and businessman Pieter Karsten’s sunflower field is devoid of plants. Only red soil remains. The teenager was caught stealing sunflower seeds on the farm, was loaded on a bakkie to be taken to the police station and was dead soon after that. Violent protests followed his death after the police made no arrests. The black community said they knew who was responsible; Matlhomola was not alone when it happened. Shortly after black residents began protesting, two men were arrested and charged with murder: Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte.Doorewaard and Schutte work for the influential Coligny businessman ...
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