A 63-year-old Bergville farmer and his wife are recovering from an attack on their home last week.
|||Durban - A 63-year-old Bergville farmer and his wife are recovering from an attack on their home.
The farmer, who requested anonymity for fear of his safety, said he believed he would either be dead or kidnapped had it not been for the sound of a gunshot that scared away five heavily armed assailants.
Midlands police confirmed at the weekend that they had arrested the five suspects, who will appear in the Bergville Magistrate’s Court today.
They will be charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of unlicensed firearms and possession of stolen property.
Police said the farmer and his 60-year old wife were at their home watching TV, on the night of September 17, when the group of men stormed their home.
The suspects demanded cash and firearms from the couple, who they bound with cable ties and gagged with cloth.
The suspects got away with the farmer’s two shotguns, two revolvers and a large sum of money.
“I don’t know where the gunshot came from, but they ran away. I knew I was going to be kidnapped, but that shot saved us,” the farmer said.
He explained that after the assailants fled, it took him more than an hour to free himself from his bonds.
He then alerted his son and the police.
“We’re very concerned for our safety after this attack. We don’t feel safe in our own home anymore,” the farmer said, adding there was a sense of relief that the men had been arrested.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni congratulated all roleplayers for their swift response and arrests.
“This reaffirms our position that if police and the community work together, we can rid our communities of criminal elements,” she said.”
Daily News