The attack took place between 14:00 and 15:00 on a farm where Collin Britz was murdered by an unknown number of attackers.

Farm workers heard shots and on further investigation discovered the murder scene.

It is presumed that Britz was ambushed when he arrived at his farm. The local farmers and SAPS responded but there have been no arrests.

A rifle and a hand gun were robbed during the assault. There is no other information available at this stage.

Netcare 911 responded to reports of a robbery at the farm after a family had been attacked in their home.

An adult male had sustained a moderate injury after being stabbed by a sharp object.

The patient was treated on scene by an Advanced life support paramedic and once stabilized was transported by ambulance to hospital for further treatment.

There is no other information available at this stage. Police are investigating.

At least two attackers surprised and overpowered a 61-year-old farmer at his dinner table.
He was hit with a hard object on his head but fought back.

He temporarily disabled one attacker and was on his way to defend himself against the next one when he was shot through his arm.

The second attacker fled, and the first attacker crawled out the door. The man went to the safe to get his firearm, and he phoned his closest neighbor.

His wallet and car keys were taken. He is in a fair condition in the hospital and is traumatized by the attack.

No arrests have been made yet. There is no other information available at this stage.

A farmer, Anton Pitout (42) was attacked by a mob on his farm in Normandien, near Newcastle, in the mountain areas of the Drakensberg, Kwazulu Natal province on 31 October 2019.

He was very severely assaulted with knobkerries and other objects all over his body, head, and face and was lucky to survive. This is the third attack he has endured this year.

A farmer who came to his assistance was also assaulted. The attack comes on the back of a dispute with land affairs and locals over a 90-hectare portion of his farm that he offered to them so that he could continue his farming activities on the rest of the land.

And the police are refusing to assist in a case being opened pertaining to the ongoing intimidation of the farmer.

The dispute is an ongoing struggle for Pitout who is suffering at the hands of indecisive actions of the local land affairs and getting no assistance from the authorities.

The question is being asked, why must South African farmers who are providing food for the country continue to be attacked, murdered and tortured not getting any help from police or government?

At approximately 13:20 members of the Reaction Unit, South Africa was called out to the farm after receiving reports of a farm attack.

On arrival, it was established that while working on the farm, employees proceeded to the owner’s home to investigate sounds of glass breaking.

They noticed a group of men breaking windows and petrol bombing the home. The mob attacked the employees before they fled on foot.

The fire was extinguished with buckets of water. No injuries were reported.

The attack is believed to be related to issues pertaining to land grabs in the area.

Durban – A KwaZulu-Natal Midlands

The couple, victims of a farm attack are appealing for an end to violence in communities and for all South Africans to unite against crime.

Burgen Thorne released a video at the weekend, after he and his wife, Chantelle, were attacked in their Hidcote home by three knife-wielding intruders last week.

Thorne is now paralysed from the waist down and is expected to use a wheelchair.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Thorne said he would not wish this kind of abuse on anyone.

“We have spent our lives teaching people, educating people to read and write and make better lives for themselves.

“We have felt the horror of this violence and senselessness,” Thorne said.

In an interview with The Mercury, his wife said the attack had left her reeling.

She said she had been relying heavily on support from friends in the community and family to get by.

Chantelle said she had been setting up the laptop, while her husband was preparing a snack for them.

“I heard him bellow from the kitchen and thought our dog was having a fit. I rushed to see what was going on and there were balaclava-clad men standing in the kitchen.

“They had shattered the glass door.

“The men started kicking Burgen in the ribs and back. They also stabbed him three times. At one point, my husband was lying in a pool of his own blood.” She said one of the men grabbed her and led her through the house, at knifepoint, while he looked for items to steal.

“There is nothing of value in our home. We have literally put all our money into building this house and all they managed to take were the car keys.”

Chantelle said a farmhand, who lived on the property, rushed to the house to see what was going on and he was also assaulted.

She said they had had burglaries in the past but they were never violent.

The couple is children’s book illustrators, who have worked for clients including Oxford and Cambridge universities and Pan Macmillan.

They moved from Gauteng and had been living in Hidcote, near Mooi River, for 12 years.

She said Thorne would have to undergo physiotherapy.

“He will be in the hospital for the next four to six weeks. That’s how long it will take his spine to recover from the trauma of the men standing on his back and kicking him,” she said.

Earlier this year, national police commissioner, General Khehla John Sitole, announced he had met the Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa to discuss issues around rural safety and the implementation of the Rural Safety Strategy.

He said this strategy comprised a Farm Safety Plan, designed for farms to ensure a collective rapid response between stakeholders, to address all safety issues and incidents that affected the agricultural community.

He said their turnaround vision included rural development aimed at combating stock theft and farm attacks.

KZN violence monitor, Mary de Haas, said many rural areas were badly policed and crime was rife.

“Some of the culprits in farm attacks have been doing crime in their own areas with impunity and were only caught when they attacked farmers.

“Part of the bigger problem is the failure of police intelligence. There was the talk of sector policing but I doubt that is happening.

“Some farmers use security companies but protection is something we pay the police to do,” she said.

De Haas urged farmers to have the cellphone numbers of station commanders and duty officers.

“Often landline phones are out of order or go unanswered if a station is badly run.”

The Mercury

#FarmAttack 21/9/2019: Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal. 50-year-old couple was attacked by three suspects armed with a knife. Male victim was stabbed three times, female victim was beaten and kicked. Attackers stole the couple’s Isuzu bakkie and fled. pic.twitter.com/0mbqv4rHBp

A farm attack took place on 21 September 2019, in Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal province. A 50-year-old couple was attacked by three suspects armed with a knife.

The male victim was stabbed three times and the female victim was severely beaten and kicked. The attackers stole the couple’s Isuzu bakkie and fled.

There is no other information available at this stage. Police are investigating.

The Democratic Alliance condemns the cruel and ruthless attack on livestock this weekend on a Dargle farm in the KZN Midlands which included a pregnant cow’s back being cut open in an attempt to paralyse it. Sadly, the cow did not survive the attack but the calf was saved after an emergency operation.

The incident, which took place during the early hours of Saturday morning saw Magma Security and Investigations and local Farm Watch members confront five armed males while they were trying to make a get-away. A gunfight ensued with several shots being fired. One of the suspects was shot dead.

The DA in KwaZulu-Natal commends the brave actions of farm watch members who later found two bags containing stock theft equipment, including knives and fence cutters.

Despite repeated calls to the province’s Agriculture MEC, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, along with recommendations to ensure that rural areas and farming communities are better protected, the DA remains ignored. These measures include;

– The establishment of rural safety units similar to the effective and now disbanded commando units
– The establishment of a rural safety directorate within the provincial SAPS
– The provision of funding to establish a citizen band radio network
– The utilisation of technology to help in the fight against crime e.g. drones and cameras and
– An increase in patrols and efficiency of the police serving rural communities.

The DA calls on KZN’s farming communities who are suffering from an increase in crime to come forward with information to make public the scourge that has been largely ignored by the government.

We will continue to fight for the safety of rural communities and those who rely on the agricultural sector for a living. We can no longer accept the ruthless and barbaric behaviour of criminals praying on the peace-loving communities that form the backbone of our economy.

By Chris Pappas, MPL – DA KZN Spokesperson on Agriculture and Rural Development

Date: 09 September 2019

Luan, the farm manager was found with marks on his face and neck indicating that he was strangled by his attackers. Unknown weapons were also used to viciously assault Luan. There were 10cm lacerations on Luan’s face and pools of blood in the bedroom indicating that he put up a fight.

Cellphones, a TV set and jewellery were taken. The accused, Vincent Mziwenkosi Cele (33) was arrested a month later after an intensive investigation by a team of Port Shepstone detectives.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, eight years for burglary and 12 years for robbery.

#FarmAttack 23/7/2019: Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal. Two female suspects were attacked by 6 to 8 supects armed with a knife and hammer on their farm. They sustained minor injuries. One vehicle and cash stolen. No arrests made. pic.twitter.com/FmBGFqMUHb

A farm attack took place on 23 July 2019, in Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal province. Two female victims were attacked by between six to eight attackers on their farm.

The attackers were armed with a knife and a hammer. They both sustained injuries during the assault. One vehicle and cash were robbed.

There have been no arrests made. There is no other information available at this stage.