Alleged farm attacker dies after residents resort to mob justice

The man who allegedly robbed and killed Bokkie Potgieter on a farm in Gluckstad just outside Vryheid, in KwaZulu-Natal, has died after being assaulted by residents, Vryheid Herald reports.

Today, as protesters came together to march against farm murders and, dressed in black, took to social media to show their support, Potgieter was brutally attacked.

Potgieter, believed to be in his 70s, was a private man who lived alone. At 10am this morning, a man is said to have entered his home and attempted to steal his bakkie.

A struggle ensued, and the robber allegedly cut Potgieter in the face and head with a panga.

Witnesses reported the robber then loaded Potgieter on to the bakkie and drove off. Potgieter was still alive at the time, but bleeding profusely and unable to move.

The robber, a well-known ‘troublemaker’ in the area, crashed the bakkie into a pole 800 metres from where the attack took place. He tried to restart the bakkie, but due to extensive damages from the crash, only made it a further 500 metres along the farm road before the vehicle came to a complete standstill.

READ MORE: Farmer shot in farm attack near Ladysmith

By then, residents, who were drawn by the commotion, had noticed Potgieter’s feet hanging out of the window and approached the vehicle to investigate.

When they realised what had happened, residents in the area, who are now fed up with crime, decided to teach the robber a lesson and continued to beat him until police and paramedics arrived.

By then, Potgeiter had already passed on. Paramedics’ attempt to assist the robber proved fruitless as he succumbed to his injuries not long after.

Last year, thousands of black men and women marched to the police station, following the murders of well-loved farmers Billy van Rooyen and Ronnie Lombard, to show that the killing of farmers affects everybody negatively, regardless of race. They demanded that the police do what was necessary to fight crime in the area.

READ MORE

Farmer shot in farm attack near Ladysmith

– Caxton News Service