Farm-worker guilty in South African white supremacist murder

Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

Chris Mahlangu (left) was found guilty of murdering white supremacist leader Eugene Terre'blanche, while Patrick Ndlovu was acquitted of the crime.

By msnbc.com

One of two farm-workers charged with killing prominent South African white supremacist leader Eugene Terre'blanche?in 2010 was found guilty on Tuesday, according to reports.?

The court convicted Chris Mahlangu, 29, of murder but?acquitted?the?second accused, Peter Ndlovu, who was just 15 at the time of the slaying, the BBC reported. Ndlovu, whose identity had been protected as a minor during the trial and was named for the first time Tuesday, was found guilty of housebreaking, Britain's?Guardian newspaper reported.

Both had denied the charges.

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Terre'blanche, co-founder of the far-right Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB) who sought to overthrow South Africa's?black majority government, was bludgeoned and hacked to death at his farmhouse in Ventersdorp on April 3, 2010. He?was found in his bed, his pants pulled down to reveal his genitals, The Guardian reported.?

NBC News' partner ITV News' coverage of the Terre'blanche murder trial

Terre'blanche's former employees were charged with murder, attempted robbery and house breaking and aggravated robbery. Mahlangu had said that Terre'blanche had tried to rape him, the Guardian reported.

Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

Members of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB) react as supporters (not pictured) of the two men accused of hacking Terre'blanche to death chant slogans outside the court.

Fears that the case would spark political violence in a country still coming to terms with white minority rule, which ended 16 years ago, were not realized.?

Accused appears in court in Eugene Terre'blanche murder trial

The killing did raise allegations of wage exploitation as well as questions about a sexual motive for the killing, as well as accusations that the police botched the case, according to the BBC.

Wearing military uniforms, scores AWB members camped out outside court, their trademark swastika-style flags planted?in the ground, a BBC correspondent reported.?

Meanwhile, supporters of the two farm-workers sang songs from the anti-apartheid struggle, according to the BBC.?

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