Three in court for farm robbery

THREE men appeared in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with an armed robbery on a farm about 10km outside of Kimberley on the N12 in June last year.

The men, Johannes Zikalala, Tulani Ngwena and Sello Molokomme, are facing charges of housebreaking and theft and were not asked to plead.

The case was postponed until later this month for a formal bail application.

At the time of the incident, it was reported that five men entered the farm, Eberon, shortly after 7am on June 15 last year.

The owner of the farm, his daughter and her grandmother were at home at the time.

The suspects tied up the three family members and demanded to know where they kept their firearms and other valuables, before fleeing the scene in the farmer’s wife’s Mercedes-Benz.

The vehicle was later spotted abandoned on the N12 by a police helicopter deployed to track a Toyota Land Cruiser stolen from Mokala National Park the previous night.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man has also been arrested and charged with housebreaking following an incident in Jawno Street, Monument Heights, on Friday night.

Although it could not be confirmed by the police, it is believed that the suspect could be the same person found hiding on a property in Smith Street, Belgravia, last Monday.

Police spokesperson, Captain Olebogeng Tawana, could also not confirm yesterday whether the suspect had appeared in court.

A video, taken from a surveillance camera on the premises in Smith Street, was widely circulated on social media and showed the intruder, who was carrying a knife, hiding on the property.

Concerned

Despite the arrests, residents in the city remain concerned about personal safety following a recent spate of brutal attacks on the isolated, elderly and vulnerable.

Several incidents, including the recent attacks on a prominent local businessman, a farmer and his partner and an elderly resident of Belgravia, as well as the grizzly discovery of the remains of a toddler in Homevale, have left residents on high alert, while the DA in the Northern Cape has called for intensified efforts to reduce the prevalence of crime.

The DA called on the police in the Province to intensify their crime prevention and combating operations in the wake of a fortnight that has seen several violent offences.

“In less than two weeks, there have been three horrific attacks on residents of this Province, as well as the discovery of the body of a toddler in the veld at Witdam over the weekend,” said the DA’s provincial chairperson, Harold McGluwa.

He was referring to the attack on Glen Steyn and his partner, Lorraine, on their farm near Ulco on Friday, the assault on 70-year-old Cynthia Chaplin on Thursday last week and the earlier attack on Kimberley businessman Piet Els and his partner.

“The body of a toddler, believed to be between the ages of one and two, was also discovered lying next to a rock in the hot sun in the Homevale area on Saturday,” McGluwa said.

“It is clear that people of all ages, living in both rural and urban areas in and around Kimberley, are under attack by hardened criminals.”

McGluwa said that there needed to be a greater awareness of criminal trends and more collaboration between law enforcement and the public to address crime.

“Above all, we need more police officers, better training and additional vehicles in the Northern Cape.

“Without these basic crime-fighting tools, crime will continue to destroy the freedoms which South Africans deserve.”