OWN CORRESPONDENT, Durban | Wednesday 10.00PM.
AN elderly couple has been attacked on their farm outside Richmond. Helen and Irvin Taynton, of Sandy River farm, were both stabbed by a man who entered their house on Wednesday afternoon.
The attacker escaped with a gun and R20. Neither of the victims was seriously injured. Police have launched a manhunt for the attacker, police spokesman Captain Henry Budhram said.
The attack comes on the heels of the murders of nine people at Simozomeni near Richmond on Tuesday night, in which a family gathered for a wedding was gunned down.
A violence monitor in KwaZulu Natal, Mary de Haas, said on SABCTV that the broad pattern of violence across KwaZulu-Natal is that of terrorism, linked to “sinister third-force activities, in Richmond particularly brutal”.
Her opinion was echoed on Wednesday by both the African National Congress and the Cabinet. The ANC said in a statement that it “reiterates its view that the violence in the area remains the work of a third force, using Richmond as test-run with a view to spreading destabilisation to the entire province ahead of the 1999 elections”.
A statement released by Cabinet said: “Sinister forces are responsible for the murders. The attacks on communities, including the latest developments in Gugulethu in the Western Cape, are not a reflection of a community upsurge, but activities of professional killers.”
The Department of Defence has meanwhile said it will send a company of troops to Richmond to attempt to deal with the violence. The Minister of Safety and Security, Sydney Mufamadi, will visit Richmond of Friday to assess the situation.