Kimberley - Cattle farmer Dougie Pope, 69, narrowly escaped death on Tuesday morning after he was shot during a drive-by shooting at the entrance of his farm Success, which is situated about 40km from Kimberley.
No arrests have been made yet and the police have launched a manhunt for three suspects.
The suspects apparently sped off in the direction of Kimberley.
Pope is recovering at Mediclinic Gariep after a bullet hit him in the stomach.
The bullet penetrated his stomach, near his right kidney, but then exited his body.
The shooting incident happened at about 8.30am as he was on his way to a dentist in Kimberley.
Pope said he had climbed out his vehicle to open the gate and picked up his keys that had fallen on the ground.
“As I bent down, a vehicle stopped at the gate. A passenger sitting at the back of the vehicle pointed a firearm out of the window and fired a shot at me. If I had not bent down, the shot would have hit me in the head and I would not have been alive today.”
Pope managed to drive back to the farm house after he was shot.
“My son took me to hospital. He managed to alert all the farms in the area and they blocked off the roads. The police were also immediately on the lookout for the suspects.”
Pope stated that he noticed other people in the car, although it was difficult to make out who they were.
“There was a lot of dust on the gravel road, making visibility difficult, although there appeared to be three people inside the vehicle. They immediately sped off in the direction of Kimberley.”
Pope said that there were many side roads where the suspects could have fled.
“The driver must have been travelling at high speed and must have been familiar with the area.”
He added that he had lived peacefully on the farm all his life with his family, without any major incidents.
“The farm belonged to my grandfather after he closed the family business, Pope Sports, so that he could farm on a full-time basis. There was only one incident about four weeks ago where the electricity mains were mysteriously switched off. One of the neighbouring farms also had a break-in.”
Spokeswoman for Mediclinic Gariep, Denise Coetzee, said Pope would be kept for medical observation for a few days. “Surgery was not necessary after the bullet exited his body.”
Free State police spokeswoman Constable Dineo Ntsika said the police were searching for three suspects travelling in a white Toyota Corolla 1999 model.
“The specialised units from the Northern Cape and Free State including the K9 unit, Organised Crime Unit and SAPS Airwing are assisting in the search for the suspects. No arrests have been made yet,” said Ntsika.
She added that the police were investigating a case of attempted murder.
“The farmer is in a stable condition in hospital. None of his vital organs were injured during the shooting. At this stage we do not consider it to be a farm attack as no items or vehicles were stolen. A passenger in the back seat fired the shots and they then fled.”
Ntsika indicated that the vehicle had not been spotted yet.
“The vehicle appears to have travelled in the direction of Kimberley. The farmer was unable to record the registration number of the car. The suspects are considered to be armed and dangerous. Anyone who may have spotted the vehicle is requested to contact the nearest police station.”
Chairman of Agri-Boshof Willie Weich said farmers in the district were placed on high alert and safety units were patrolling the area on a 24-hour basis.
“We believe that this is an isolated incident. An incident of this sort rears its ugly head on occasion. The last farm attack took place in Windsorton about two years ago,” said Weich.
AfriForum head of community safety Ian Cameron indicated that there was an increase in violent crimes being committed on farms in the past week.
“Attackers are becoming more brazen and usually target elderly or defenceless farmers in isolated areas,” he said.
DA Northern Cape spokesman for Agriculture Ismail Obaray condemned the senseless shooting.
“The attack on Pope is unsettling. While Boshof falls within the Free State, it is close enough to be of grave concern to the Northern Cape farming community,” said Obaray.
“According to police, farm murders have increased by 30 percent in the country since 2010. Rural safety issues contribute to the decline in commercial farmer numbers. Experts predict that commercial farmer numbers will decline to 15 000 individuals over the next 15 years, causing significant job losses in the agricultural sector and it threatens food security in the country.”
Obaray proposed that specialised rural reaction units be deployed to rural crime “hotspots”.
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