Western Cape farmer airlifted to hospital after attack

A farmer (65) is in critical condition in hospital with severe head trauma after being assaulted on the R365 road near a farm outside Lamberts Bay yesterday at 11:54. It is believed that the farmer had discovered two men trying to steal his cattle. The men have been arrested and are expected to appear in the Lamberts Bay Magistrate’s Court once they are charged.

Elowayne Gouws, the director of West Coast Medical Rescue, says they received multiple calls for assistance. Gouws says the farmer suffered severe head trauma and was treated at the scene by a local doctor. Paramedics later stabilised him before he was airlifted to hospital by Netcare911.

“Our thoughts are with the patient and his family during this time,” he adds. Albert Burger, a farmer from the area, says he was notified about the incident via a community WhatsApp group. I decided to gather about 15 other residents and we began searching for the suspects.

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We found them hiding,” he says. Burger adds that this is the third crime in the area he is aware of in recent weeks. “I had sheep stolen about two weeks ago and so did another neighbour.” He says they report all incidents to the police, but claims they only ‘respond swiftly when the attacks are brutal’.

“I have lived on the farm since I was a child; now I feel unsafe and helpless,” he says. Willem de Chavonnes Vrugt, the president of Agri SA, says crime against farmers is not only a policing issue but also a prosecuting one.

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