An Aberdeen farmer, who was briefly implicated in a far-right plot to assassinate former president Jacob Zuma at the ANC's Mangaung conference in 2012, has been refused bail by the Makhanda High Court on charges of sex trafficking. The court heard that he also tried to escape from prison by paying R50,000.

Pleas by an Aberdeen farmer that he is facing bankruptcy due to his ongoing incarceration and that he needed to look after his animals and his farm, has been dismissed as grounds for bail by the Makhanda High Court.

The farmer, who cannot be named until he has pleaded to the charges against him, is facing multiple charges of rape and trafficking in persons, the illegal possession of ammunition, and assault. He has also been charged with flogging the women he attacked.

According to the judgment, the man also paid R50,000 to "escape" from prison, but this didn't work out after another inmate told the investigating officer about the plan.

Two of the man's previous bail applications were refused and the Makhanda High Court has now also dismissed the man's application to appeal against those decisions.

In 2021, the man was charged with others of plotting to kill former president Jacob Zuma at the ANC's 2012 Mangaung conference, but the charges against him were later withdrawn.

In an affidavit before court, the farmer said he was 41, a well-known resident in the Graaff-Reinet area and a member of...