Durban - The victim of a brutal assault on a farm in Mooi River was discharged from hospital on Tuesday.
A man living on a farm and his wife were physically assaulted by robbers outside of Mooi River on Monday night.
The couple were having dinner when three men wearing balaclavas came into their house and allegedly attacked them.
Mooi River SAPS is compiling a report on the incident and waiting for the victims statements.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokeserson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said three unknown men entered a farmhouse in Mooi River and demanded cash.
"They also assaulted a 31-year-old man and took cash as well as a Bluetooth speaker. They fled the scene on foot. The victim was taken to hospital for medical attention. A case of house robbery was opened at Mooi River police station for investigation,"Mbele said.
DA Spokesperson on Agriculture and Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal Chris Pappas said he met with the victims at Hilton Life hospital where the victim was being treated on Monday night.
“His face was covered in blood when I saw him being wheeled off for scans. Although he was conscious and did smile at me when I greeted him. His wife is visibly shaken and in shock. I bought her a cup of hot chocolate to keep her blood sugar higher. According to local reports two of the three suspects are known criminals in the area.
Pappas confirmed that as of 9am on Tuesday, the SAPS Mooi River had not taken a statement from the victims due to them being in hospital.
None of the men involved in the alleged attack where arrested yet.
"The rising violence and criminality in our farming and rural communities must be a priority for government. However, in true uncaring fashion that we have become accustomed to, the government has not shifted resources towards addressing this scourge. The president was even recorded in 2018 as denying farm safety as an issue,"Pappas said.
He said while some choose to divide the country on the issue of farm and rural safety, the DA in KZN has put forward a number of solutions that can help to curb the trends. Pappas said these include; directly subsidising security initiatives in rural and farming communities such as farm watches and patrols; utilising technology such as drones and licence plate recognition cameras in rural areas; categorising farm attacks/murders as hate crimes; establishing court watching briefs to track the progress of cases; Introducing properly resourced rural safety units and monitoring these through a dedicated provincial safety directorate in SAPS.
"The growing number of incidents in rural and farming communities should be a concern for all South Africans. Not only are we witnessing brutal attacks against our fellow citizens but if these trends continue we are putting our food security at risk. The Agriculture and Rural Development portfolio has failed on its mandate to farmers and rural communities. A meeting scheduled to interrogate SAPS and the MEC for Safety on the 2011 rural safety strategy has not materialised,"Pappas said.