Farmer aged 70 was killed and his wife stabbed, beaten

The arrest of five people following the murder of a Jansenville farmer was reassuring, Eastern Cape safety MEC Helen Sauls-August said on Wednesday.

“This swift response will restore public confidence in the SA Police Service,” she said in a statement.

“We were shocked to learn about this brutal, inhumane killing of an elderly [man] by young people. It is disheartening that our young people could do this to one of their own elders in their own locality.” 

Jansenville farmer Owen Charles, 70, was stabbed to death, and his wife critically injured, during an attack at their farm on Sunday.

A woman and four boys were arrested on Monday evening after a shoot-out and high-speed chase in Knysna, Western Cape.

Captain Malcolm Pojie said the police arrested four boys, aged between 12 and 17, and a 22-year-old woman, driving an Isuzu Frontier in the Plettenberg Bay area towards Knysna.

A provincial traffic officer saw the vehicle on Beacon Valley road on Monday evening and noticed it had no number plates. He gave chase, was shot at, and called for help.

The driver of the fleeing vehicle lost control and it overturned.

The woman and two of the boys suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospital under police guard.

The other two were taken to the Knysna police station.

A sixth passenger, a 22-year-old man, managed to run away.

Pojie said the stolen items and the vehicle belonged to Charles.