The murder of a 67-year-old farmer and assault on his wife on Sunday outside Ventersdorp has triggered an angry reaction from farmers and condemnation from Premier Thandi Modise, who has expressed shock at the incident.

“We see that this behaviour of killing our fellow farmers is becoming the fashion and government is doing nothing about this.

“We will not leave any stone unturned because war has been declared and we shall fight back,” farmer Pieter Fritz said.

Modise has urged police to intensify their effort to work more closely with the farming community to prevent attacks and to arrest individuals responsible for the violent attacks as soon as possible.

“We call on police not to leave any stone unturned until those responsible for the heinous crime are behind bars.

“Perpetrators of violence against our farming community, particularly the vulnerable elderly should have no place in society but must be permanently removed,” the Premier said.

Modise also appealed to the public to come forward with any information which might assist police in their investigations, following another murder, attempted murder, and house robbery case registered in the province on Sunday, days after the sentencing of two men for the murder of Andre van der Merwe, an Ottosdal farmer.

In the latest incident, two men, 21 and 22, have been arrested and will appear in the Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court today.

Police said the two men confronted the farmer outside his house on the farm shortly before 10am.

They reportedly hit him over the head and dragged him into the house where they attacked and allegedly raped his wife.

The men allegedly tied up the farmer’s wife and fled with two cellphones but later she managed to free herself and found help from a neighbouring farm.

Provincial police spokesperson Brig Thulane Ngubane says that the farmer died on the scene while his wife was recovering in hospital in Klerksdorp.

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