At 11:00 yesterday (November 16) morning, two armed Shona-speaking men arrived on foot at the Veekraal farm, around 5km outside Haenertsburg towards Polokwane.
The men were allegedly enquiring about sheep and chicken prices, and because the owner of the farm was not present, they spoke to a worker through the farm’s fence.
“They then produced a gun, forcing the farm worker to open the gate,” said Hans van Schalkwyk of the Haenertsburg Neighbourhood Watch (HNW).
They proceeded to assault him and took him, at gunpoint, into the bush about 300m from the house where they gagged his mouth, tied his hands and feet and also tied him to a tree.
The attackers went to the worker’s house, taking his wallet, keys, cellphone and boots.
Next on their agenda was the main farmhouse.
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According to van Schalkwyk, “They entered the house by smashing through a sliding door, but ran away as soon as the alarm went off.”
One man was reportedly wearing a red tracksuit top, and both wore blue overall pants.
HNW members were on the scene within 10min and tracker dogs soon afterwards.
Haenertsburg SAPS arrived and a manhunt was launched, with Brigadier Enslin from the Tzaneen cluster arriving soon afterwards with an extra 30 members to assist.
K9 also arrived with a team of 12 tracking dogs to assist the existing dog tracking team.
Anybody with information on the incident is urged to contact Captain Shiviti of Haenertsburg SAPS on 082 565 8191 or Hans van Schalkwyk of HNW on 061 168 1944.
All information above was received from HNW.
