Johannesburg – Four men and a domestic worker have been arrested after the robbery and assault of a farmer in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Tuesday.

The 43-year-old farmer was severely assaulted on his farm by five armed men when he arrived home around 19:30 on Monday, police spokesperson Thulani Zwane said.

He and his domestic worker were tied up and left in one of the bedrooms. The men fled with the farmer’s vehicle and several of his firearms.

“The farmer managed to get help from other employees on the farm and police were called in,” Zwane said.

A tracking device led the police to the farmer’s stolen vehicle, which was left abandoned on a road between Bergville and Winterton.

Zwane said police received information about getaway vehicles the men used to escape.

The four men were apprehended on Monday afternoon when police spotted two of the getaway vehicles in the Bergville area.

The domestic worker, who was also arrested, was allegedly an accomplice in planning the attack, Zwane said.

Police were still searching for the other two vehicles and another suspect.

All four men and the domestic worker were expected to appear in the Bergville Magistrate’s Court later this week.

The farmer was recovering in hospital.

– SAPA