Bloemfontein: A 56-year-old farmer in the Free State was fatally shot in the head by unknown assailants in the early hours of Friday morning and his 26-year-old son was stabbed in the back.
The farmer and his son were discovered by their domestic worker on Swartpan Farm in the Nala Local Municipality.
The police are investigating a case of murder and house robbery.
“On 6 November 2020 at about 5am, the domestic worker at the farm made the gruesome discovery after she was called by the deceased's wife, who was concerned since she tried in vain to get hold of her husband and son,” police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said on Friday.
The domestic worker then alerted the victims’ relatives.
“Other farmers and the police were activated and the farmer was declared dead at the scene, whilst the son was referred to a hospital for treatment,” Makhele said.
The circumstances of the murder and robbery are unclear and the police are investigating how many perpetrators were involved.
Makhele said it is suspected that two to three handguns were stolen from the victim’s house during the robbery.
The police have launched a manhunt for the suspects. Anyone with relevant information should contact Captain James Mahlatsi in Hennenman on 082 4530 806.
This incident comes after the murder of a 21-year-old Free State farmer Brendin Horner. Horner was murdered and tied to a pole on the DeRots Farm in Paul Roux, Free State. He was found on October 2 with severe wounds to his face and head.
The murder of Horner sparked public outrage and protests that led to a clash between the community and the police outside the Senekal Magistrate’s Court in October. The protest was aimed at ensuring the two suspects charged with murdering Horner did not receive bail.
Non-profit organisation AfriForum, a group that represents the Afrikaner interests in South Africa, said it now considers farm murders an act of terror.
AfriForum deputy chief executive Ernest Roets said they want the message of farm murders to be spread to “the ends of the earth”.
Roets said he wants the matter to be taken to the United Nations to ensure an international light is shone on the problem.
According to a report compiled by AfriForum, there have been 552 farm attacks in South Africa reported and confirmed for the 2019 calendar year. There have been 57 farm murders in 2019.
“The number of murders in the Free State increased significantly over the last three years.”
The highest number of farm murders occurred in the Free State, accounting for 19% of the national total. | African News Agency (ANA)