A Darnall father is demanding justice following a brutal attack on his wife with a cane knife by a farm worker – who today is a free man.
Raeanne van der Wath was alone with her three-year-old daughter at around 6am on Monday, September 3, 2018 at Hummalo farm near Darnall, shortly after her farm manager husband, Dale, had left for work.
She was alerted to an intruder by the screams of her three-year-old in the kitchen, where she confronted a man wielding a razor-sharp cane knife.
She recognised him as a cane cutter on the farm.
Raeanne acted instinctively when the man swung the knife at the toddler, jumping in front of her and doing everything in her power to shield her child.
The frightened little girl hid behind the couch while her mother fought off the attacker.
The 35-year-old mother was stabbed several times, her arm was shattered and her ankle broken as she defended herself against the ongoing attack.
“The cane knife also caught me on my temple and cut across my hairline. As I was running away he caught me on my upper body and hacked at my back,” recounted the brave woman who still does not know the motive behind the attack.
According to her husband, Dale, the police arrested a man two days later, finding him hiding in the cane fields.
Police reported the man had been arrested near Nonoti and was positively identified by Darnall farm watch members.
“Police found the cane knife and bloody clothes in his possession. My wife recognised the attacker as an employee of the farm. Even though she said he was wearing a balaclava it was not drawn down his face and she recognised him as one of the cane cutters that has worked on the farm for a few years. The police brought him back to the farm to do a walk through,” said Van der Wath.
The violent attack that shook the farming community of Darnall has raised questions and demands for justice.
“I asked the police if my wife needed to identify him at an ID parade, but that was not done. The last time I spoke to the detective from Stanger SAPS on the case was in April, when he informed me the suspect had been released in January and has been free this entire year. Apparently all charges against him were dropped.”
Van der Wath is furious that the police failed to let him know that the man had been allowed to walk free.
“Despite the brutal attack on my wife and the trauma we have all been through we have been badly let down by the police and the justice system,” said Van der Wath.
The road to recovery has not been an easy one for the Van der Wath family who have had to deal with the psychological scars long after the physical ones had faded.
“After the attack my daughter would scream every time I went near her as I think she associated the trauma with me. We both had to go to therapy for months to help us process the attack. I have blocked a lot of the details out and am managing to adjust,” said the young mother.
Provicial SAPS spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele told the Courier on Tuesday that a case of attempted murder had been opened for investigation by KwaDukuza SAPS.
The 32-year-old suspect had been arrested and made several court appearances.
However, the matter had been withdrawn at court.
Col Mbele said the National Prosecuting Authority would have to supply reasons for the withdrawal of the case.
Africans are not competent to run things