Theunis Frederick Jacobus Bosch (73) was found on his property 30km outside Vredefort, in the direction of Kroonstad, next to the R721. His bloodied body was discovered on Friday morning 17 May 2019, with two small caliber gunshot wounds.
The attackers gained entry into Bosch’s home by breaking a window and then making presumably a child climb through the burglar bars to unlock the back door. The farmer’s ID, bank cards and .22 revolver are missing. No further information was released by the SAPS.
Also on May 16, Niels Muhl was attacked on his farm in Kroondal, a village situated in North West Province of South Africa with a large German speaking community. He was severely beaten, tied up and his attackers had jumped on his head. Left for dead, he managed to escape, but the black assaillants had taken his vehicle, phone and farm keys.
With great difficulty, he then reached his brother Mark’s house about half a kilometer away. His vehicle was later found in some fields not far from where the attackers had left him. Niels was rushed to hospital with a broken jaw, several missing teeth and severe bruises.
The body of another white farmer was found earlier in a river after a brutally attack on his Kapteinsdrift farm in Bonnievale in the Cape Winelands District on Monday, May 13.
According to reports, Mr and Mrs Tool Wessels were attacked by four black assaillants wearing balaclavas. Wessels was found badly tortured, wearing only underwear with a necktie aroung his mouth. The body of her husband was later found a few hundred meters from the home in a nearby river.
His wife Liezel, who was stabbed in the chest. The attackers had poured boiling water over her back, but the badly tortured woman managed to escape to a neighbouring farm.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut said the circumstances surrounding the murder and attempted murder “are being investigated”. Traut said four armed black suspects attacked the couple, both 55, in their residence and held them hostage.
“The female victim who sustained a stab wound managed to escape and alerted police. The body of her husband was later discovered approximately 200m from the house,” Traut confirmed. He said the suspects fled with two firearms and are yet to be arrested.
On May 14, the storage buildings of a white-owned farm in Koster in the North West Province, were destroyed in an arson attack. The farm manager, Dirk Kruger, said the damage amounted to around R5 million after several farm implements and fertilizers were reduced to ashes.
According to Kruger, the arsonists had doused the implements in fuel to set them alight.