Police have called for calm and the community to allow the law to take its course.
Police in the Free State have arrested an 80-year-old man after the body of a young man was discovered on a farm on 20 August 2025.
According to Brigadier Motantsi Makhele, police discovered the body following a tip-off from the community.
“A task team from Bloemfontein followed leads which led them to a farm situated along the road between Kroonstad and Welkom, where the remains were recovered,” Makhele said.
“The deceased was buried on the farm. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, DNA samples were taken for analysis to confirm the identity of the deceased.”
The SA Police Service (Saps) has opened a docket on charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice.
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“It can be confirmed that an 80-year-old man has been arrested and is expected to appear in court soon. There is a possibility of additional arrests in this case.”
Police have called for calm and the community to allow the law to take its course.
“The Saps regard this as a very serious and sensitive case where a person has lost his life. We appeal to the community to allow the investigation to unfold in an evidence-driven manner and to refrain from spreading unverified information that could compromise the case.”
Alleged murder on Free State farm
In May, 78-year-old farmer Carl Christian Gutter appeared in the Brandfort Magistrate’s Court for the murder of Sonnyboy Segalo, nearly a decade after the incident.
On 29 August 2016, the police were summoned to what had been reported as an attack on Gutter’s farm near Brandfort.
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They found four suspects who had been arrested by a group of farmers and farm workers. Sonnyboy Segalo was among the four accused of attempted robbery.
Segalo was found lying face down with a bullet wound to his back. A firearm claimed to belong to the suspects was discovered three days later not far from the scene.
“This firearm and another belonging to Gutter were both handed in for ballistic testing. Segalo later succumbed to his injuries. His three co-accused have since been acquitted of attempted robbery,” said Lieutenant Colonel Zweli Mohobeleli.
Although no one was initially arrested for the murder of Segalo, an inquest into his murder was held by the Brandfort Magistrate’s Court from July 2024.
In March 2025, the court ordered that Gutter be arrested to appear in court in connection with murder.
Gutter was granted bail of R2 000.
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