Albert van Deventer

Albert van Deventer (1947 - 2010)

Brief overview:

Albert (63), was shot in the head on his farm Langwater, close to Vaalwater in Limpopo on 13th March 2010 by three armed attackers. His wife Hannetjie (64) was tied up and beaten.

She eventually untied herself and sought help from a neighbouring farm.

Personal possessions and the safe were stolen, as well as Albert's single cab bakkie. The bakkie, with most of the stolen goods on the back, was involved in an accident close to Nylstroom the same morning. The suspects were doing thatching work on their homestead. Other farmers in the Vaalwater region said these thatchers also worked for them. The suspects were arrested shortly after the attack, of whom one was given bail.

Steven Sibeko (28) and Frans Monyamane (32) were arrested in Mamelodi and appeared in court, facing charges of armed robbery and murder. They were remanded in custody and would be back in court on April 8. The third suspect, Thabo Phasha (31) was arrested and appeared in the Louis Trichardt Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, March 30, also in connection with the farm attack on the farm Balmoral in the Mara district. Mr Pieter Henry Snyman (56) was attacked, assaulted and stabbed to death. The case was postponed to 14 April 2010. The suspect is still in custody. Police spokesperson Ronel Otto said the provincial Hawks had managed to arrest 14 people for different farm attacks and killings in the province since December 2009.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
  • Albert's wife Hannetjie was assaulted, she was tied up, blindfolded and dragged around.
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • A total of five people were murdered on Limpopo farms in February said Dr. Theo de Jager, vice-president of Agri SA.
  • Predominantly elderly men:
  • Jacobus van Staden (69)
  • Jozua Francois Booysen (69)
  • Esmé Sheila Booysen (53)
  • Etienne Cammaerts (61)
  • Paul Dunn (49)
  • Farm murders in Limpopo continued into March:
  • Ron Smith (70) was found murdered on his Bela Bela smallholding on 01/03/2010
  • Jan Wheeler (65) was murdered in Marble Hall on 12/03/2010
  • Albert van Deventer (63) was shot dead on his farm Langwater on 13/03/2010

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction

Additional Biographical Information:

Game farm dream becomes a bloody nightmare 16 March 2010

When he retired, it was Albert van Deventer's dream to build a house for himself and his wife on a game farm. But on Saturday, armed men killed the 64-year-old and assaulted his wife.

Van Deventer was shot at about 7pm when he went outside to move the sprinkler. He was shot in the face from close range. It was the second time he had moved the sprinkler that evening, which led his family to think his attackers were lying in wait.

After the attackers killed Van Deventer, they ran to the kitchen, where his wife Hannetjie was. They tied her up, blindfolded her and dragged her around.

"They asked for the keys to the gun safe where my dad kept his hunting rifles. They also wanted money," daughter Liza said.

Her mother was assaulted and threatened until the attackers left her tied up. They left with Van Deventer's bakkie, the safe and cellphones.

Links to Media articles:

• http://archive.is/NXr2O
• http://archive.fo/KqnKU
• http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2011/02/find-murderers-of...
• http://archive.fo/KOLU1
• http://archive.fo/KqnKU
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100405033547/http://www.beeld.com/Con...
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000188432368893