Farmer arrested for alleged killing of cows

NELSPRUIT – A farmer was arrested after he apparently killed three cows and attempted to shoot a cowherd near Mara. Mr Hendrik Cilliers (63) was arrested by police and appeared in the district court on Wednesday.

He has been charged with attempted murder, cruelty to animals and malicious damage to property. The case was postponed until November 1. Cilliers was granted bail of R1000.

This transpired when Mr Abel Nkosi who works for a farmer in the area, followed his cows to the banks of the Crocodile River last week Friday. He apparently said he was not aware of the fact that he was on another farmer’s property.

He was approached by Cilliers, the owner of the farm who was riding a quad bike. He allegedly shouted profanities at the cowherd and pulled out a firearm.

Nkosi said the farmer chased him and fired two rounds at him. He ran for his life. The shots missed him. Cilliers then apparently cornered three of the cattle and fired three more rounds.

Nkosi later went back to the riverbank to find the cattle. He found one cow had been shot in the neck and later died of its injuries. Two more were already dead.

The owner of the cows phoned the police. Sgt Gerald Sedibe, spokesman for the police, said the SAPS had searched for Cilliers and then eventually made the arrest on Wednesday.

Mpumalanga head of communications for COPE, Mr Riot Hlatshwayo said, “Our organisation’s responsibility is to defend the National Constitution, which is aimed at, among others, eliminating racial hatred.

We accept that the farmer accused of shooting the unarmed cattle belonging to his neighbour for whatever reason, is innocent until proven otherwise by a court of law but we still believe that what happened was a case of racial discrimination. Our belief stems from the first-hand information we received on the spot, less than an hour after the shooting.”