The Free State is reeling from shock after two more farm attacks in the last two days. In the latest incident early this morning, a 37-year-old Kroonstad lion breeder shot and killed three attackers.
Moments ago, the police confirmed to Food For Mzansi that Pieter Swart is still in hospital after also being injured in the wild shootout.
The game farmer was allegedly overpowered and stabbed in the neck and head by men who gained entry to his home on the Boskoppie farm. The family-owned park breeds lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards.
In a brazen turn of events, the farmer managed to break free, rush for his firearm, fired several shots fatally wounding three of his four attackers, police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele told Food For Mzansi.
He says, “Swarts stays alone on the farm and was taken to hospital for medical treatment. Three suspects were fatally wounded and another managed to flee the scene.”
Police are currently on the scene searching for the fourth suspect.
Reitz attack foiled
Meanwhile in the town of Reitz, 172 kilometres further, Sussex breeder Annalea Van Niekerk (25) tells Food For Mzansi it was just after 02:00 on Tuesday, 10 February 2021 when she was awakened by her father’s panicked screams.
This alert her and her mother to an intruder in their farmhouse.
The assailant had gained access through the back door, silently breaking the lock to the gate and the glass door to enter the Van Niekerk home.
Upon hearing her father’s screams, Van Niekerk dashed towards the panic button in time.
“My dad said that he was almost as tall as I was at 1.6 metres. He managed to break through the security gate and glass door. It is unsettling,” says Van Niekerk, who is currently featured on Vir die liefde van die land, a popular farmers’ television show.
Van Niekerk confirms that the intruder managed to steal farming tools from the store room outside their house.
“We suspect there was more than one attacker because my dad caught him while he was on the phone. Tools were stolen from the store room, but we do not know where they hid them so quickly. Our farm is currently surrounded by maize fields. Police say the footprints they found are the same tracks as in other incidents.”
The family worry about their safety. “Yesterday I was pretty shaken up. We thought our giant boerbol would protect us, but this guy moved through our home so silently, not even the dogs heard him.
The Van Niekerk family is worried that their security measures might not be able to protect them against a possible attack.
“You can install all the high-tech security systems in the world, but in the end, you can only really put your faith in God,” she says.
