LAST Wednesday was April 27… Freedom Day.
But we must ask ourselves this: Whose ‘freedom’ and at what cost? What kind of freedom do the victims of farm attacks, brutally murdered in their homes and on their farms, celebrate?
Well respected and beloved farmer, Billy Van Rooyen was laid to rest last Wednesday alongside his father in law, Ronnie Lombard.
While this year’s Freedom Day theme was ‘Together Building Better Communities…’ an entire community mourned the senseless slaughter of a father, a brother, a husband, a son and a friend. An entire community, regardless of race or status, colour or creed, has been robbed.
The memorial service for Billy Van Rooyen and Ronnie Lombard was held at the NG Moedergemeente (Klipkerk) and reflected just how many lives and hearts, of all walks of life, had been touched by the victims of our community’s most recent farm attack.
Family members, friends, colleagues, workers, friends and fellow farmers attended the service en masse to pay their last respects to a man well known for the respect he showed to others, regardless of their background or race.
Following the heart-wrenching memorial in the church, mourning the deaths, but also celebrating the lives of Van Rooyen and Lombard, the enormous crowd of mourners followed the caskets out of the building, to the church parking lot where they were placed in the funeral vehicles and a final send off was given as the melancholy sound of mourning and singing filled the air.
“He was the best friend I ever had,” recalls Andrew Dobie, who has been friends with Billy since 1997. “We were brothers. We did everything together and knew everything about each other. He will be greatly missed.”
According to a report by Major Shooz Magudulela, officers from a task team from Ulundi Cluster arrested a man, believed to be linked to the recent murder of Billy Van Rooyen and Ronnie Lombard, on April 26 after approaching a car in Vryheid, suspected to have been used on the night of the crime.
The 33 year old suspected killer was due to appear in the Vryheid Magistrates’ Court late last Thursday afternoon, facing two counts of murder, attempted murder and house robbery, which were opened at Gluckstadt police station. He never arrived. It is believed that there was a matter that required further investigation and the court appearance was postponed.
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, commended the members who were involved in arresting the suspect.
“I also encourage the community to come forward and give us information about the whereabouts of the remaining suspects who were allegedly involved in the shooting,” she said.
According to Detective Constable Attie Engelbrecht, the suspect was due to appear in court on Tuesday, May 3. He also stated that investigations were being done into other leads which could lead to further arrests.
