/ 1 January 2002

Man arrested after farm killing

A second man was arrested on Tuesday, three days after he and an accomplice allegedly stabbed a young farmer to death, police said on Wednesday.

Inspector Madimetja Makgakge said the arrested man would appear in the Ellisras Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday charged with murder. His accomplice was wounded during the attack and was in the Polokwane hospital under police guard.

Makgakge said Douw Gerbrand van Tonder (24) and his wife Alicia (20) returned to their farm De Kuile in the Villa Nora region of Lepalale, formerly Ellisras, around 11pm on Saturday to find two men ransacking their bedroom.

Van Tonder was stabbed in the chest and died at the scene from loss of blood. His wife was slightly wounded. The two robbers fled the house taking an undisclosed amount of cash but before he died, Van Tonder shot one of the men in the leg with a 9mm pistol. – Sapa