Durban - The heinous killing of Normandien couple Glen and Vida Rafferty has shattered the family’s aspirations of farming.
The couple and their dog were shot in August as they returned from an evening out with friends. They were accosted by a group of attackers as they entered their property. The suspects then fled in the couple’s vehicle which was later found abandoned.
This week, their farming implements and livestock were auctioned and their farm leased.
Tamsyn Rafferty, the couple’s daughter-in-law who lives in Cape Town, said they were still coping with their loss. She said the family had decided to evacuate the farm.
“It is such a difficult situation but we are getting stronger with the support from the farming community. The eldest brother who inherited the farm won’t be farming anymore, he is renting it out. He just wants to take a different direction from farming for now. This shows that we are deeply hurting. We miss them (Glen and Vida) so much. We think about them every day,” she said.
According to Jan Mostert, the auctioneer, two farm properties were leased and 620 Brahman-type breeding cattle, consisting of calves, and tractors and vehicles were sold on auction at a Serpentine farm on Wednesday. Mostert told the Sunday Tribune that the auction was a success with farming implements sold to a crowd of farmers who supported the event. He said the 691-hectare farm had been leased for three years with an option to review the contract.
Mostert said the new tenant was expected to move to the farm by January. He said he had met the deceased couple Glen and Vida and described them as kind-hearted people, adding the Rafferty family was sad to lose their parents.
“They were a wonderful couple who took great care of workers and neighbours on their farm. But their death was a blow to every farmer in the province. Their sons are not coping well after this which is why they are doing away with farming activities for now,” said Mostert.
A suspect, Doctor Vukani Ngwenya, 20, was arrested last month and charged with the murder of the Rafferty couple.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority’s Natasha Kara, Ngwenya was charged with two counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and conspiracy to commit robbery.