Increase of onslaughts on plots north of Pretoria

Honingsnestkrans, Haakdorningboom and Bon Accord were particularly singled out by gangs, resulting in more than 10 attacks and crimes in the past week.

The latest victim was Koos Janse van Rensburg (73). He was attacked and robbed at his home on his smallholding in the north of Pretoria last Thursday.

Janse van Vuuren was in bed when he heard noises coming from the kitchen. The next moment, two unknown suspects attacked and robbed him.

“They knocked my teeth out,” the elderly man told Rekord during a visit to the smallholding.

“They just said ‘where’s the money’.”

He burst into tears when he relayed how his partner had been hospitalised for hip surgery several days before the attack.

Janse van Vuuren said he is scared and struggled to sleep at night. He has received medication to help with the trauma of the attack. His son, named Koos jun, said his father phoned him at 23:09 about the attack.

“I immediately jumped out of bed and drove through. As I drove to my dad’s house, I called for help,” Koos jun explained.

On the corner of his father’s smallholding, Koos said he saw a reaction officer from GAC Risk Solutions and told him that there was trouble at his father’s property a few meters away.

Earlier in the evening, Koos sen’s neighbour’s workers were also attacked and robbed by suspects. The reaction officers were busy searching the area when Koos jun met up with them. He said when they arrived at his father’s house they could at first, not locate him because he was hiding.

“He was bleeding terribly, they hit him so hard that his false teeth broke. His ribs were bruised and his eyes and mouth swollen.”

Only a television, a radio and other small electronic devices were stolen.

“My dad has been here since 1964. I grew up here and we have never had an attack. It was just a break-in at the workshop.”

Following the increase in incidents in the area, GAC Quick Reaction Force and Bidvest Protea Coin’s national task team have joined hands to assist smallholding residents.

GAC Risk Solutions spokesman Juan du Plessis advised residents to make sure their security structure was in place and to join a security company so that help could be called for those in need.

Du Plessis said there were five attacks he knew of in the Bon Accord, Honingnestkrans and Haakdoringboom areas in the past week. There were also several home robberies, house burglaries and attempted break-ins reported during the time the various victims were shot, robbed and beaten.

The police could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.