Inyoni farm attack – how we survived

“My brother-in-law came for supper. We often have him for supper during the week,” was the first thing Cheryl Johnson said in an interview with the Courier shortly after the attack on her husband and brother-in-law last week.

The Johnson’s lives went from normal to catastrophe in a split second when the two brothers were attacked on their farm in Inyoni, near Mandeni last week.

Ian and Cheryl had gone to Durban in the afternoon, they came back and walked the dog and then Ian’s brother, Peter, was to join them for dinner as he often did.

Cheryl was busy in the kitchen, preparing dinner when Peter arrived at the gate and Ian went outside to greet him.

“A few seconds later I just heard this ‘blah-blah-blah’. At first I did not register what was happening, I did not hear any voices or shouting. I came outside the kitchen, went into the dining room. I was still processing it, I couldn’t work out what was going on,” said Cheryl.

With that, she said, Ian fell in the door saying, with blood running from his mouth, that they were being attacked, ordering her to quickly close the door.

“I asked where Pete was but Ian did not answer my question and again told me to quickly close the door,” said Cheryl.

She got Ian’s foot in and slammed the door shut and locked it, asking what was going on.

Ian said they were being attacked and told her to quickly call neighbours Andrew Hall and Sheldon Nel.

Cheryl momentarily fumbled with the touch screen smart phone before getting hold of Andrew and told him that Ian and Pete had been shot and asked him to quickly call the ambulance.

In the meantime, Ian was lying on the ground with blood everywhere.

The next minute the attackers started kicking the front door, trying to break it down.

“The closest room was his farm office, so we went in there and I locked that door,” said Cheryl.

The next moment they smashed the window next to the front door and Cheryl thought the next door to go would be the farm office door.

Ian told Cheryl to unlock the safe and give the intruders anything they wanted if they managed to get into the farm office.

“Don’t fight them, just give them everything they want,” said Ian.

Cheryl unlocked the safe and put the small amount of cash that they had in the safe out.

Ian’s one firearm was in the safe and Cheryl gave it to her husband, now weak from the blood loss, and asked him if it was loaded and if he was able to shoot.

In this life or death situation, the idea was to shoot at whoever knocked down the door.

Fearing that he may run out of steam, Ian asked Cheryl if she would shoot if he could not.

“If I have to I will,” said Cheryl.

The couple just sat there, knowing that their attackers were in the house, but they could not hear anything happening in the house.

“We just waited and there was nothing else we could do. We prayed and prayed,” said Cheryl.

The sound of their neighbours Andrew Hall and Sheldon Nel arriving and calling out to them was a huge relief. Their attackers had gone and Ian and Cheryl were safe. Ian was still conscious but very weak.

“There were just people everywhere, taking charge, it was amazing,” said Cheryl.

Her friend Tracey Talmage arrived and helped her to get all the necessary documentation ready for Ian’s transfer to Victoria Hospital.

“Some other really top paramedic, Paul (Herbst), arrived and said he would travel with Ian. We followed them to the hospital where Dr Grant Lindsey was here,” said Cheryl.

She said Grant and Ian recognized each other and it meant a lot to Ian that Grant was there to take care of him.

“Our little Jack Russell, Joey, had actually hidden tucked away in the bathroom and somebody took her home for the night,” said Cheryl.

She spent the night with her friend Tracey but did not sleep. The next morning Tracey took Cheryl back to the farm where the police were still busy with forensic work.

“Pete died on the scene and he had to be taken away. The neighbours sorted that out. I did not get involved in that at all.”

Cheryl was staying on the farm with her children and said that they had extra security guards, but her main concern was for when her husband, Ian, had to return to the house where he was attacked.

Police launched a manhunt and  arrested two suspects on June 5.