Sebastian van der Merwe

Sebastian "Basie" van der Merwe (1943 - 2011)

Brief overview:

Basie (68), was stabbed to death when three assailants gained access to his home in Booysen, west Pretoria on 7th March 2011. He had gone out to collect his newspaper when he was attacked. The killers stabbed him six times, the chest, back and left hand.

His wife, Annemarie (58), dragged Basie's bloodied body into the home and called police and emergency services.

Basie's son arrived and said that although his eyes were closed he was still breathing. He then took his mother to a neighbour and when he went back to his father he had passed away.

Capt. Police spokesperson Bongi-Nkosi Msimango said it appeared the three robbers had taken their chances after Basie opened the front door at around 05:00 to fetch the newspaper. "The attackers gained access to the yard by breaking part of the palisade fence and lifting the electrified gate off its track," he said.

According to Msimango, the police arrested two suspicious men in a squatter camp in the area around 08:30. "They are being questioned and we are trying to determine if they can be linked to the murder," Msimango said.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Street/Suburb
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • Extract from the article:
  • "Suzette Fourie, DA councilor for Ward 55 in Pretoria, said that crime in Booysens had skyrocketed in the past year because the Tshwane City Council was delaying eviction orders to remove the squatters in the three largest squatter camps around the neighbourhood.
  • "There have been several eviction orders, because the squatters are sticking there illegally, but the city council's lawyers do not even show up for the court cases. On top of that, many of the squatters were registered for the upcoming election over the weekend while they are technically illegal residents in the area.
  • "The residents of Booysens and surrounding neighborhoods have been complaining about it for some time, but it seems to be falling on deaf ears."

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • Nothing was 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:

Links to Media articles:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20110311015125/http://www.beeld.com/Sui...
• http://archive.is/4Knop
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000193929239824