Five Farm Attacks in Four Days in South Africa, One Dead, Woman Tortured

Five farm attacks took place in four days this week in South Africa as the country teeters on the edge of mass blackouts due to a gang war among corrupt ANC party cadres in South Africa’s state energy company Eskom.

Amazing pic.twitter.com/790AzMyMeX

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 24, 2023

On July 22 at 10:25 pm, during a scheduled blackout, four masked attackers invaded a home in Paarl, in the Western Cape, and overpowered the residents.  A neighbour alerted the Drakenstein Farm Watch (DFW) who arrived with K9 police. The attackers had already fled the scene with some valuables.

On July 22 at 5 pm, Mike Pattinson (67) was found shot to death in his farmhouse near Harrismith in the Free State. Pattinson’s Toyota, Urban Cruiser was found at a house in Tseseng, Qwaqwa.  After a gun battle with the fleeing suspects, police arrested seven suspects, two of whom were injured.

On July 22 at 08:30 am, farmer Kevin Taylor was tending to his livestock when approx. 5 armed attackers arrived at the farm house in the Mooi River area in KwaZulu-Natal. Taylor was assaulted by the attackers and forced to open the safe.  Six firearms, including a revolver, a shotgun and four rifles and an undisclosed amount of cash were robbed.

On 23 July, a woman was attacked and tortured with boiling water by five attackers on a farm in Dalton, in KwaZulu-Natal province.

On July 25 at 8 am, farmer Pietie Nel was overpowered by five armed attackers on a farm near Wadela in Gauteng province.  Two shotguns, a pistol and a pellet gun were robbed.

Civil rights organization AfriForum published an online security checklist for farmers to help prevent farm attacks.

“Farmers have no choice but to ensure they secure themselves well by practicing contingency plans and taking other safety precautions. This document serves as a very handy guideline, which farmers can use to assess their security planning and ensure the necessary measures are in place,” says Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s spokesperson for Community Safety.

5000 police issued firearms stolen in the last 5 years. pic.twitter.com/kkyU5c1EXL

— Jacques Broodryk (@JacquesBroodryk) July 27, 2023