Victims of horror farm attack still plan to marry in style

Johan van Wyk, 41, and Hanli Barnard, 47, a couple from Hartebeespoort, have been through a hellish ordeal over the past six months after Johan was shot nine times during a farm attack in November last year.  

Despite this, however, they are adamant they will be getting married in style, they told Kormorant. 

The couple is slowly beginning to piece together their lives that were almost taken away by the intruders. 

“We would have gotten married in December, and I was actually busy making wedding decorations on the day our lives nearly fell apart,” Hanli said. 

ALSO READ: Man murdered, wife burnt with hot water in farm attack

Johan and Hanli were sitting on the porch of their farm near Lanseria when five armed robbers attacked them. 

“While we were sitting and talking, Hanli suddenly screamed and I felt a pistol against my head. I pushed it away and they shot my fingers off,” Johan recalls. 

He pushed Hanli inside the house to protect her, and was shot three more times, in the chest and lower body. 

“After this, they shot me three more times before they walked past me. I didn’t lose consciousness, but I was powerless to help Hanli and [the] children.”

Their children, aged between five and 18, were in the house with Hanli’s mother. The intruders grabbed Hanli and forced her inside the house. 

Johan’s eldest son came to investigate and when the intruders saw him, they shot at him. He managed to get away. 

Hanli said: “I just kept pleading saying I need to fetch my little one. They made me fetch my five-year-old and my mother and have them sit in the lounge while they ransacked the house. At one stage, they gestured towards our wedding decorations and asked what they were for. My mother answered that they were getting married in a few weeks, one of the intruders kicked Johan and asked, ‘Why would you marry a dead guy?’. 

“When the intruders fled with the stolen goods, I realised that Johan was seriously hurt … The blood was spurting out of his body like a fountain. I had to get him to a hospital immediately. I couldn’t wait. Some of the farm hands helped me load him into the car and I raced to the hospital.”

Johan was in critical condition. His large intestine and lung were badly damaged, as well as his hip and pelvis. He was in hospital for more than two months, and “came out of there like a baby,” Johan said. 

Johan recovering in hospital.

“I had to learn how to sit, walk all over again … My entire life changed. My one leg is now six centimetres shorted than the other, and an operation to restore my damaged hip will cost half a million rand.”

Johan was also out of work for six months, and in this time, the family lives without an income or medical aid funds. Hanli also had to take unpaid leave often to look after Johan. 

“We couldn’t stay on the farm and relocated to Hartebeespoort with the help of friends. A lot of our things were left as is on the farm.” 

Johan was only deemed medically fit to start working in May. 

And now the couple wants to get married. 

“The first time I was able to sit down, I told Hanli that as soon as I can walk, we’re going to get married. The intruders can’t take that away from us as well.”

“He’s my ‘miracle man’,” Hanli crooned. “He literally got up and started working. He has only been able to walk for two months.”

Johan said he had no choice, as he had a family to support. 

“What bothers me the most is that most people out there don’t really know what’s going on. There is no support system for victims. We were traumatised, without an income, and alone. Until today the police have made no effort to get declarations of the incident from me or Hanli. It is incredibly tragic, but that’s how it is,” he lamented. 

The couple wants to start a new life. They have decided on June 15 as their wedding date, and would like to be married properly, just like they planned before the farm attack. 

“Hanli deserves it, and although we don’t know where the money will come from, I believe we owe it to ourselves. Our lives will never be the same, but we have to move forward … That is all that people can do.”

Johan now helps victims of farm attacks and is eyeing starting a reality TV show on farm attack victims and how their lives have changed. 

“The public needs to be informed and know what is going on in our country. It is not possible to carry on with your life like before. The fear is always there, but we need to realise that there is hope as well and focus on that,” Hanli said. 

Kormorant would like to invite the community to help Hanli and Johan have the wedding they deserve. They still need a wedding cake, champagne, a photographer, a hairstylist for Hanli, a makeup artist and nail technician, monetary contributions towards a reception, and help with a honeymoon. 

If anyone is willing to contribute, contact Kormorant on 072 953 0071. 

This article was translated from Afrikaans by Nica Schreuder. 

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