WATCH: Lowveld couple seeks sanctuary in police station away from mob of alleged assailants

On Sunday morning Delia Human and her fiancé, Barend Byliefeldt, left their farm outside White River to go grocery shopping at Checkers in town. They had their dog with them.

“When we were approaching White River, a group of vehicles started overtaking on double solid lines, nearly pushing us off the road. At this point Barend told me to take his phone and start recording as they were driving extremely recklessly.

“When we approached the Casterbridge circle, we were basically surrounded by these suspect vehicles. The one, a black Range Rover with no licence plates, suddenly stopped in front of us, blocking our entry into the clear traffic circle. The driver of the black Range Rover brought his car to a complete standstill in front of us, got out of his vehicle, pulled out his firearm, and walked towards the driver’s side of our vehicle.

“Barend told me to get down as he was concerned the man would shoot, when another man swung a large, concrete divider at the drivers’ side window, smashing it instantly. Barend reversed, smashing into the vehicle that was blocking our rear and then went off-road, over the barriers to get out from behind the black Range Rover. At this point, the driver of the Range Rover went around the front of his vehicle and had his firearm pointed at us the entire time. In order to avoid him, Barend reversed away from him, smashing into his vehicle as well. We went over the traffic barriers to get away from them and started driving towards White River Police Station.

WATCH HERE: The driver’s side window smashed in

“They chased us with a white VW Golf, with blue ‘Tactical Response Unit’ branding and GP number plates; another white, similarly branded BMW SUV; a Mercedes-Benz sedan; a black Mercedes-Benz minibus; a grey Mercedes-Benz minibus; and other vehicles we were unable to identify at the time,” Human said.

Byliefeldt used alternative routes to get to the station, but at times they had to go over sidewalks to get away from the vehicles trying to push them off the road. “We managed to get to the police station and we immediately got out and ran inside. I shouted for help and told the SAPS officers that we were being chased by armed men,” said Human.

WATCH HERE: Human calling for help

The officers took them into the “radio room”. “We could see what was going on outside. Our dog was still in our car. “There were a number of the men who had chased us outside the station. Some of them surrounded our vehicle, and others came inside requesting that the police must ‘let us out’ and that they wanted our cell phones.

“We were both terribly scared. “Barend was recording the entire time. The men outside yelled through the windows that they would shoot us and that they were coming for us.

WATCH HERE: One of the men yelling outside the window

“One of the officers told us to give our phones to them. We refused. At one point one of the men, who had pushed his way into the radio room, called Barend by his name and surname and stated our physical address in full, telling us they would come for us.

“At the same time, they yelled that they had judges and police in their pockets and that we had no idea who they were and who we were dealing with. All the police did was threaten to take our phones, telling us repeatedly to hand these over to them and the men,” she said.

The SAPS then told them to go to another room down the passage where they had a limited view of their vehicle and dog. “As we felt our lives were in danger, we reached out to friends, attorneys and security companies.

“One of our friends arrived to pick up our dog. At this point, local security company Divergent Ops had also arrived to assist us. Barend walked out to help our friend with our dog when the men chased him inside the police station to get his phone – in full view of police and security companies. He wanted to get back inside to me when four men started assaulting him inside the police station. Some of these men were armed. None of the police tried to stop the men. Barend was clinching his phone to his chest while at the same time trying to get back to me at the so-called safe area. At this point I started recording.

WATCH HERE: Byliefeldt gets assaulted

“As the men tried to drag him outside, they told him they were going to shoot him. While I was recording them, the man pushed me and tried to grab my phone too.

“During the assault, the men managed to get Barend’s phone. The police witnessed everything and did nothing.

WATCH HERE: Byliefeldt gets assaulted further

“The moment our attorney arrived, everyone disappeared.”

“From when we had arrived at the police station, we asked several times to make a statement and open a case. We were ignored and threatened. “One of the men half-filled out an accident report. They were all free to go. No one performed any alcohol or drug tests on these men. We saw the police greet the men outside, at their vehicles, smiling and laughing,” she said.

“The moment our attorney arrived, everyone disappeared.”