The Guardian of May lst carried a report from its Bloemfontein correspondent on the aftermath of the trial of four policemen and the clerk of the Bultfontein court on ch rges of torturing prisoners, All five were convicted end sent to prison, but - the white population of Bultfontein seem to have far more sympathy for them than the unfortunate African they tortured to death. More than £2,400 has been collected to pay their legal costs. The fund was established under the auspices of an eight-man committee, whose chairman is a nationalist M.P.,‘Mr. C. Sadie. There is a well-known member of the United Party on the committee, Many of the United Party (the so-called opposition party in South Africa which is mainly supported by the English speaking whites) - in Bultfontein subscribed to the fund.
The report adds: "Mrs. S.L. Ras, the owner of the shop where Izak Magaise, who died at the police station, worked, says that she has lost hundreds of pounds' worth of business since the trial." Apparently, she committed the crime of paying Magaise's funeral expenses, and helps to support his widow. Phiteoon Makhetla, who was the principal witness and who was also beaten up at the police station, is also being victimised. He has been ordered to leave the farm where he and his family live.