Durban - A South Coast farmer, whose home has been ransacked twice in recent months, shot dead an intruder and wounded another at the weekend.
The three intruders - one got away - had with them a blowtorch, hammers, pickaxes and rope. Ronald Lilje, 66, from Port Edward, said he believed the intruders planned to rob, torture and kill him and his wife, Lorraine.
When police arrived, Lilje said they congratulated him.
Margate police spokesperson Gerard Mfeka said the surviving intruder faced a robbery charge and was recovering at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, under police guard.
An inquest docket had been opened for the killing of the other, he added. The third escaped.
The Liljes were asleep when their alarm was triggered in the early hours of Saturday.
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I woke up, switched it off and went back to sleep. But when the alarm went off again, I knew something was wrong,” he said.
He searched the house in the dark and saw two men working open a window in a spare room. He quietly told his wife to stay in the bedroom, pulled on dark clothes, took his gun from the safe and waited for the trio to make their way in.
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As soon as they were inside, I fired.”
Sandile Mbotho, 25, was shot in the head and chest. Another 25-year-old man tried to run, but was shot in the collarbone, arm and knee.
He ran towards the outside wall, but Lilje pursued him.
“I caught him and I did not know what to do,” he said.
When he heard a commotion in the house he sprinted back.
“Mbotho was chasing my wife but she managed to close the bedroom door and he fell to the floor and bled to death.”
Lilje then went to the second man outside, where he found him talking to his mother on his cellphone asking her to call an ambulance.
Earlier this month, police arrested Manor Gardens resident Dennis Webster, 30 minutes after he killed an intruder in his kitchen.
He is out on bail.
On Wednesday, police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said: “We are not at liberty to debate the merits of the case that is still going to be heard before the court… for comparison purposes it should be understood that each case and the circumstances surrounding the matter is viewed on its own merits of fairness.”
Institute for Security Studies researcher Johan Burger said police were being inconsistent and needed to be guided by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“Police must open a murder case and start investigations. If the investigation reveals foul play, then arrest the homeowner and pass the case to the NPA. If investigations shows that the person was defending himself, then there is no need make an arrest.”
The Mercury