Farm attack at Mariental

BARELY a week after the brutal murder of farming couple Giel (79) and his wife Sarie Botma (80) on their farm near Koës in the //Karas region, yet another farmer has fallen victim to a farm attack.

Mr Botma died of a gunshot wound to the head, while his wife was strangled. Three suspects, Julius Frederick Arndt (40), Andries Afrikaner (37) and Johannes Christiaan (36) were arrested, and they appeared in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court in connection with the murder on Monday.

In the latest farm attack, Hardap Irrigation Scheme farmer Riaan de Klerk and his grandchild JR Strydom were attacked on their plot on the outskirts of Mariental.

De Klerk said five men armed with two pistols and a rifle emerged from the shadows, with one pointing a rifle at him when they arrived at the plot around 08h00 on Wednesday.

“I started wrestling with one of the attackers, who had pointed the gun at me. But the others tackled me to the ground before they tied up my hands and feet,” he explained.

“A gunshot went off while we were wrestling, but luckily no one was injured”, he added.

The farmer said he managed to throw his cellphone to his grandson, who was busy unlocking the house’s front door at the time when the attackers had overpowered him, shouting that he should alert his son Cobus de Klerk, whose farm is about 5 kilometres from the plot.

“Two of them chased after the boy to stop him from making the call, but he managed to make the call nevertheless before they caught up with him. My son heard the voices over the cellphone, and realising that something terrible was going on at the plot, he rushed to our aid,” he said.

De Klerk said the attackers demanded the safe keys from his grandson, and asked whether there was an alarm in the house.

But his grandson, who remained calm throughout the drama, told them that he had no idea where his grandfather kept the safe keys.

He said the attackers fled on foot when they heard Cobus’s approaching vehicle as he came to their rescue. De Klerk said his worker on Tuesday had told him that he had noticed strange shoeprints on the plot.

“I immediately stepped up security at the farm by hiring two guards to keep a watch for intruders after I informed the police. But after two days when nothing we expected happened, I released the guards,” he continued.

“I relaxed my vigilance, and the thugs struck at a time when I did not expect them,” he said.

The farmer said no one was injured during the farm attack, which he described as “a shock”. When approached for comment, De Klerk Jr, who came to the aid of his father and nephew, remarked: “You think it is safe in Namibia, but things are just getting worse”.

He said the time has come for farmers to step up security at their farms. Hardap police’s regional crimes coordinator, deputy commissioner Eric Clay, said the police have launched a manhunt for the suspects.

He added that the police, assisted by some farmers, were yesterday afternoon still combing the area for the suspects.