South Africa - British Man Stabbed To Death In Robbery At Animal Farm
https://nigeriaafrica1.blogspot.com/2012/11/south-africa-british-man-stabbed-to.html
A British man who emigrated to South Africa and planned to turn a farm into a nature reserve and rehabilitation centre for owls and cheetahs has been stabbed to death during a robbery in which about £210 and a mobile phone were stolen, police said on Monday.
Chris Preece, 54, stepped outside to investigate a power cut when he was attacked by three men with machetes. "Preece fled to the house, but the attackers chased after him and continued the assault," said police spokesman Phumelelo Dhlamini.
Police were alerted on Sunday morning by workers reporting for duty at the Fleur des Lis farm near Ficksburg, a town close to South Africa's border with Lesotho. The murder weapons were discovered but no arrests have been made.
Preece's guard dogs are believed to have been poisoned after he took them out on Saturday night, according to the Volksblad newspaper. Preece became concerned when they did not return and was attacked soon after. His 56-year-old wife, Felicity, was stabbed several times and suffered a fractured skull. She is said to be in a stable condition in hospital.
The couple's daughter-in-law, Jeanne Preece, told Volksblad: "The robbers threw her against the walls, slashed her and left her for dead covered in blood. And for what? A bit of money, a wallet and a few cellphones."
Preece, originally from Southgate, north London, moved to South Africa in 1995 to work as a geotechnical engineer for a mining company, she said. He worked in Johannesburg and spent weekends at the farm, 200 miles away, where his wife and other relatives lived. The couple gave horse riding lessons to children.
It is said to be the second murder, and fifth violent robbery, in the region in the past month. This comes against a backdrop of protests on South Africa's wine farms and years of tension in which white farmers have argued they are targeted in racially motivated attacks.
The most notorious recent example was the hacking to death of white supremacist Eugene Terre'Blanche on his farm in 2010.But some commentators deny that farmers are being singled out, noting that, on average, 42 people a day are murdered in South Africa, one of the most violent and unequal societies in the world. The vast majority of victims are black.
Jeanne Preece said" I tell people this wasn't a farm murder! He wasn't a farmer. He was in love with this land."
Wouter Wessels, a spokesman for the pro-Afrikaner Freedom Front Plus party, said estimates that 3,000 white farmers had been killed since the end of racial apartheid in 1994 were "roundabout" right.
But he admitted: "There are no official statistics available. All murders should be condemned but, when we have a people being viciously targeted, we need figures to look at it and find a solution. I think race does play a part."
Wessels called for farm murders to be made a "priority crime" and condemned the killing of Preece, adding: "The image that is being created in the international community is dangerous and that is having a detrimental effect on our economy."
Police were alerted on Sunday morning by workers reporting for duty at the Fleur des Lis farm near Ficksburg, a town close to South Africa's border with Lesotho. The murder weapons were discovered but no arrests have been made.
Preece's guard dogs are believed to have been poisoned after he took them out on Saturday night, according to the Volksblad newspaper. Preece became concerned when they did not return and was attacked soon after. His 56-year-old wife, Felicity, was stabbed several times and suffered a fractured skull. She is said to be in a stable condition in hospital.
The couple's daughter-in-law, Jeanne Preece, told Volksblad: "The robbers threw her against the walls, slashed her and left her for dead covered in blood. And for what? A bit of money, a wallet and a few cellphones."
Preece, originally from Southgate, north London, moved to South Africa in 1995 to work as a geotechnical engineer for a mining company, she said. He worked in Johannesburg and spent weekends at the farm, 200 miles away, where his wife and other relatives lived. The couple gave horse riding lessons to children.
It is said to be the second murder, and fifth violent robbery, in the region in the past month. This comes against a backdrop of protests on South Africa's wine farms and years of tension in which white farmers have argued they are targeted in racially motivated attacks.
The most notorious recent example was the hacking to death of white supremacist Eugene Terre'Blanche on his farm in 2010.But some commentators deny that farmers are being singled out, noting that, on average, 42 people a day are murdered in South Africa, one of the most violent and unequal societies in the world. The vast majority of victims are black.
Jeanne Preece said" I tell people this wasn't a farm murder! He wasn't a farmer. He was in love with this land."
Wouter Wessels, a spokesman for the pro-Afrikaner Freedom Front Plus party, said estimates that 3,000 white farmers had been killed since the end of racial apartheid in 1994 were "roundabout" right.
But he admitted: "There are no official statistics available. All murders should be condemned but, when we have a people being viciously targeted, we need figures to look at it and find a solution. I think race does play a part."
Wessels called for farm murders to be made a "priority crime" and condemned the killing of Preece, adding: "The image that is being created in the international community is dangerous and that is having a detrimental effect on our economy."
