Duwayne Smith was murdered in cold blood in front of his wife, Ingrid, and two daughters, Jenica (10) and Elisma (8), in an attack on a Randridge farm in Randfontein, Gauteng, on Thursday evening.
The family reportedly arrived home around 8:00 p.m. when they noticed two strange men in the yard.
Smith, who works at Party Animals SA, allegedly then – in an attempt to protect his family – jumped out of the van and fired back when the suspects shot at them. One of the attackers shot him dead in the process. Smith was shot in the head.
Ingrid was also seriously injured in the attack and is currently being treated for her critical injuries in the Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg.
Kobus Pienaar and his wife, Monique, the victims’ neighbours, say they immediately knew something was wrong when they heard a few shots around 20:00.
“I could hear that it was coming from Duwayne’s side. We immediately tried to call Duwayne afterwards, but he did not answer,” Pienaar tells RNews.
“Ingrid did answer when we tried to call her, that’s when we heard there was a big mistake. I think she dropped the phone because of her serious injuries.”
Pienaar says he immediately notified other residents on a WhatsApp group of the shooting incident, to which apparently there was a very good response.
“I arrived at the scene shortly after – it was gruesome. The vehicle was in the garage and Duwayne’s door was open, the window broken.
“I think Duwayne tried to shoot back, because he collapsed right there, with his firearm in his hand. Ingrid was lying in the driveway, she was shot through her right shoulder blade from behind, the bullet came out in front.”
Pienaar later located the two daughters in the house.
“They were extremely traumatized.”
According to Pienaar, nothing was stolen; the miscreants did not even take Duwayne’s weapon from him.
“The inference I make is that they went straight for Duwayne, they waited around and killed him.”
According to information, two AK-47 assault rifles were used in the attack.
Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, police spokesperson, confirmed the murder of Smith and said the Randfontein police are currently investigating a case of murder and attempted murder.
Nevhuhulwi also confirmed that the suspects fled the scene without stealing anything.
“The suspects are said to be armed and the police are asking anyone with information that can help the investigation team to call their nearest police station or the Stop Crime number on 08600 10111.”
Dr. Pieter Groenewald, leader of the FF Plus, strongly condemned the attack and believes that “this is the sixth massacre since Julius Malema, the EFF leader, sang the song ‘Kill the Boer’ last Saturday in the FNB stadium”.
According to Groenewald, a police report 20 years ago already found that statements by politicians incite people to violence and that this is one of the causes for farm attacks.
“The massacre on farms and smallholdings this week in which six people died, the youngest of them in Randfontein, should leave no doubt about the consequences of Julius Malema’s inflammatory statements,” believes Groenewald.
“By continuing to sing so-called struggle songs and whip up followers to kill farmers and white people, the leader of the EFF himself indicates that his party is nothing but a terrorist organisation.
“Nor does there need to be a debate about the assumption that Malema’s statements always result in a massacre of innocent people.”
Groenewald believes it is unacceptable that the country’s courts and institutions such as the Human Rights Commission (HRC) as well as the president of the country “indirectly condone farm attacks through their silence and failure to act”.
“The Handbook of the Afrikaans Language describes terror as an organized, terrifying act or campaign of violence to achieve a political goal; a reign of terror and threat to the safety of a person or a group through violence.
“This is exactly what Malema is inciting with his statements – and according to all indications he is succeeding. This should not be tolerated in any civilized society,” says Groenewald.
“According to TLU SA, there have already been 35 farm murders in the first seven months of this year. Many people were seriously injured and tortured. This compared to last year’s 24 murders in the same period.
“The matter was even put in the international spotlight this week with Elon Musk’s tweets, but still the president is silent. Cyril Ramaphosa,” says Groenewald.
“It can’t go on like this.”
