Slain AWB leader Eugene Terre Blanche was found with his trousers around his knees and his genitals exposed.

His killers are believed to have pulled down his trousers after the attack to humiliate him.

Prosecutor George Baloyi revealed these details about the right-winger's brutal killing. He was speaking yesterday outside the Ventersdorp Magistrate's Court, where the two farm workers accused of Terre Blanche's murder appeared.

"After the murder they pulled down his [Terre Blanche's] pants to his knees and exposed his private parts," Baloyi said.

The court proceedings were held in camera yesterday as one of the accused is a minor.

Terre Blanche was killed on Saturday, allegedly bludgeoned to death in his bed by the two farm workers over a pay dispute.

The two, aged 15 and 28, face murder charges and four counts of housebreaking and robbery with aggravated circumstances, attempted robbery and crimen injuria.

Attempted robbery has been added to the charge sheet because the assailants allegedly attempted to steal Terre Blanche's car, Baloyi said.

But it was the crimen injuria charge that shocked journalists, AWB supporters, farmers and farm workers yesterday. The charge relates to infringement of a person's dignity.

Defence attorney Zola Majavu told The Times yesterday: "The prosecutor told me that they [the accused] stripped [Terre Blanche] to humiliate him."

Police spokesman Captain Adele Myburgh, said preliminary medical reports presented to the court revealed that Terre Blanche's "brain was damaged in the attack", that he had "lacerations to his face" and "fractures to his skull".

The AWB's new leader, Steyn Van Ronge, appointed, said: "Terre Blanche's murder was brutal, inhuman and indescribable. His body was stripped naked on the bed."

AWB spokesman Pieter Steyn said: "The people who committed this crime are animals and barbarians. There was nothing left of Mr Terre Blanche's head. It was all over the walls, the ceiling and the curtains."

When The Times visited the farmhouse in which Terre Blanche was killed, the mattress of the small bed had been removed. Large bloodstains had seeped through it, indicating the extent of Terre Blanche's injuries.

An autopsy was carried out yesterday and the results will be heard in court when the trial resumes on April 14.

The older suspect remains in prison; the minor has been committed to a place of safety.

Outside the court, the national director of public prosecutions, Menzi Simelane, said the prosecuting authority had met representatives from the community, the AWB and the community policing forum to explain how the trial would unfold.

"On April 1, the Child Justice Act was implemented. It has different procedures for children. We wanted to make sure that everyone understands what had to be done. We then had a formal court appearance, where the provisions of the act were explained to the legal representatives," he said.

The act facilitates diverting children away from the adult criminal justice system and provides for offenders under 18 to be dealt with differently.

Racial tensions were high outside the court.

At least 50 police officers and a police helicopter monitored the scene. On several occasions the situation threatened to turn violent but did not.

The police kept AWB members and farmers, and the local black community, at a safe distance from each other.

The AWB supporters sang the old national anthem, Die Stem, and the black crowd sang Nkosi Sikelela iAfrika.

Four apartheid South Africa flags and about 20 Vierkleur flags were held up during the singing.

The police intervened when insults, and a bottle of fruit juice, were hurled by a woman in the AWB camp, sparking a face-off between the two groups.

Racial slurs such as "Hulle is k*****s en bobbejaane" were shouted by AWB followers, some wearing T-shirts with the words "100% Boereseun" and "Staan saam of sterf alleen" (Stand together or die alone).

Local resident Keoagile Mookisi said: "These white people are angry. They think the death is political. They are calling us k*****s. Even on farms they call us k*****s. This is how we live."

Tiaan Theron, a farmer who travelled 1300km from Beaufort-West for the trial, said the extremists' sentiments were not shared by everyone. "Vengeance only comes through God," he said

By The Times (SA)