Limpopo police have increased efforts to track down and arrest two suspects involved in Wednesday’s farm attack.
Limpopo farm attack: Police launch manhunt for suspects
In a statement, police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malesela Ledwaba confirmed that a 72-hour activation plan has been initiated in an effort to track down the two men who were seen on the farm at approximately 16:20, shortly before authorities were alerted of a fire that had engulfed the farmhouse.
A passer-by’s suspicion rose when they saw the two unidentified men wandering in and out of the farmhouse, loading items into a vehicle. This is when the eyewitness contacted authorities. However, by then, the suspects had been spooked and, for unknown reasons, they abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.
“The police were notified and on arrival, they reportedly found the farmhouse on fire, with farmer and his wife still inside. The victims were burned beyond recognition,” Lt-Col Ledwaba revealed.
The property was cordoned off and investigators combed the scene for clues. Based on preliminary findings, it was determined that the two suspects had entered the property and accosted the 74-year-old farmer and his wife, ransacked the farmhouse “and took several items including firearms and loaded them into the family vehicle.”
Before leaving, the suspects torched the farmhouse, with the couple still alive inside.
“A task team comprising detectives from provicial, district and station levels has already been assembled to track down the killers. We therefore call on community members with information to come forward and assist the police in the investigations of this horrendous crime,” provincial police commissioner Lieutenant Thembi Hadebe said in a statement.
Two cases of murder, house robbery and arson have been opened and at the time this article was published, the suspects responsible for the heinous crime were still presumably at large.