“It was heartbreaking to see him lying there. He was like a son to everyone at the lodge.”

These are the words of K’Vanga Lodge manager Brian Lourens who found Andries Brits (33) dead on the premises on Monday at 01:30.

Brits, who was cognitively impaired, was murdered while on duty as a night guard at the lodge on the Plaston road near White River, north of Mbombela in Mpumalanga. It is suspected that Brits had been attacked by two suspects while he was doing his regular patrol rounds on the property.

He was overpowered, his hands were tied behind his back and a piece of clothing was stuffed into his mouth. He was then dragged into a bushy area at the bottom of the premises and left there. It is suspected that he had suffocated, but the exact cause of death is yet to be determined.

Lourens was woken by a noise and his dog barking shortly after midnight. He went outside to investigate. He called out to Brits, but there was no reply.

“I tried to call him on his cellphone twice, but he did not answer. I went to fetch my torch and saw the gate to the property was still locked, but when I flashed near the entrance to the pub, I saw two men,” Lourens told Lowvelder.

The men fled when spotted. He called one of the other lodge guards and a neighbour to help search for Brits.

Entry to property

They found his radio and saw drag marks on the ground. They followed the marks and found Brits’s one shoe, and further down in the bushes, his body.

It was later discovered that the murderers had gained entry by cutting the fence at the front of the property. Lourens believes they had wanted to steal generators. It is suspected they had fled through the same hole.

“He was such a friendly and loveable guy, and his death was so unnecessary,” he said. “He was always happy and smiling and ready to help anyone at any time. We are all going to miss him very much.”

“All I can think about is, during that half an hour before he died, how scared he must have been and what was going through his mind,” Elize Ohlsen, who had been looking after Brits for the past three years, said.

‘A family member to all’

Lodge owner Piet van Tonder said Brits was like a family member to them all. “He was so loved, and we are all so heartsore.”

Brits’ sister, Rooszalie Rosslee said the family is going through an exceedingly tough time. “He was such a good person. He was very close to our mother, Sonja, while she was still alive. He often visited me on weekends and would stay over.

“He was so good with my children. He liked to build things and work in the yard. I last saw him two weeks ago, and we had a lovely time.”

Marinda Maré, Brits’s other sibling, recalled how he had liked to tease them while growing up. “He did not like unfairness. He was always caring.”

She said he enjoyed working and earning his own money, and that he also liked to buy things, especially bicycles and cellphones.

Brits’s father, Leon, said his son’s death is very difficult to deal with. “He was a very good person and wanted to help people whenever he could.”

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said a case of murder is being investigated.