A primary school principal who helped find 16-year-old Matlhomola Moshoeu's parents after his death on April 20, 2017, on Monday detailed how the small North West farming town of Coligny wanted "revenge" when no one was arrested for the teen's murder.

Stanny Mnyakama was testifying during Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte's sentencing proceedings in the North West High Court.

He is the first State witness to be called to testify in aggravation of sentencing after Doorewaard and Schutte were found guilty in November 2018 of murder, kidnapping, intimidation, theft, and pointing a firearm.

On Monday, Mnyakama told the court that he was approached by residents who told him that there had been no arrests for Moshoeu's murder.

"Nothing was happening at the police station," he said.

Community members then started to rally and took children out of schools. 

He told the court that residents were "highly hurt" when Moshoeu was killed. He said he was "afraid" when he saw people's houses being set alight. He was scared people would be shot.

"Coligny was a banana republic....the town was a mess," he said, adding that people – both black and white – are still trying to rebuild the community. 

Mnyakama told the court that the two accused should be sentenced to life in prison. 

"You see the two accused, their families can still go visit them, talk to them, hug them and see them, and one day they might even be forgiven...but the family of Moshoeu will never hug or talk to their son," he said.

He told Judge Ronnie Hendricks that the situation in Coligny remained "volatile", but added that it "has calmed down".

Meanwhile, AfriForum's Kallie Kriel told News24 that they would assist the accused with legal costs.

The lobby group says advocate Barry Roux will come on board to assist AfriForum's Gerrie Nel when the men appeal. Roux will lead the defence and Nel will provide input. The two legal minds went head to head in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

The defence previously argued that the testimony of a key witness in the matter, Bonakele Pakisi, was not credible because there were contradictions in his statements.

Pakisi, the only eyewitness in the murder trial who testified that he saw two white men throw Moshoeu from a bakkie, claimed that he lied to the court, according to a Rapport report.

The newspaper reported that it was in possession of a recording in which Pakisi confessed to a preacher and an attorney.