Daniel Petrus Brand

Daniel 'Danie' Brand (1937 - 2020)

Brief overview:

Danie (82), who ran a water production scheme, his wife Hybrecth Elizabeth Brand (73), and daughter Elizabeth Margaretha Brand (54), were attacked and beaten in their home, then abducted from their smallholding Hartswater, Magogong, on Sunday 26th July 2020. Elzabe had gone to visit and stay with her parents.

Before forcing the three victims into the family's own vehicles and driving to an ATM to withdraw money from all of their accounts, they stole their cellphone, cash and jewellery from the house.

Heidie Taljaard, the Brand couple's other daughter, said that when she and her husband Wikus couldn't reach her parents, a school friend of hers, Stephen Bennie, went out to the farm to check. “I normally ask him to check on my parents every now and then, but on Monday he didn’t say much and all he said was that there had been a break-in and there was blood all over,” she said. Wikus had last spoken to them around 12:00 on Sunday 26th.

A search party was conducted throughout the night, but due to the dense terrain, bad weather conditions and being dark, it was called off until daylight. Elzabe's body was found 20 Kilometres away from home, in a field in the Takaneng Village in Taung, around 12h00 on 27th July. She had been stabbed and bludgeoned to death with rocks.

The bodies of Danie and Breggie, were found at 16h00 on 28th July, 10 Kilometres away from where Elzabe was found. They had been beaten, stabbed and found hanging in a tree.

Five suspects were arrested late at night on Monday 27th July, when they were caught driving one of the Brand’s missing vehicles, a red Nissan Micra, which was stopped outside Pudimoe on the N18.

The five suspects appeared in court on 30th July 2020. Four males, and one female. Donald Seolesang (20), Tshepo Visagie (36), Realeboga Manyedi (19), Kgomotso Mpumlwana (43), and Tshepaone Melato (19). They did not apply for bail and have been remanded in custody. The case was postponed to 14 August 2020, pending further investigation.

On Friday 7th August 2020, police recovered a Sahara laptop and Samsung J5 cellphone which was pawned at a shop for R400-00 at Vaaltyn village in Taung area. Police also recovered a handbag at Khomotso Mpumlwana's home. He is one of the five suspects. The handbag contained various cards including a drivers licence, an identify document and shopping cards.

14/02/2021 - Written and shared by Heidi Taljaard - daughter of Breggie and Daniel Brand and sister to Elzabie Brand. (Translated from Afrikaans to English)

"We're on our way back home ...

Last week we were at the bail court application of the 4 accused of my parents and sister's murder case ... 1 of the defence's lawyers has Covid ... the case is being postponed to March 4th 2021. The woman's bail was refused but now she's going to apply for bail again with the others.

And as we drive through the dilapidated villages and the beautiful Free State after the rain, there are so many thoughts milling around in my head ... so many questions ... so many emotions ...

On Thursday night we watched the sun set over Vaalharts ... and there, in admiration for the beautiful colours painted in the sky, I realised that the sun had set over Vaalharts for me too ... there will always be so many pieces of me where my heart lies, but it is no longer "home" ... It will never be able to be "home" for us again.

The female suspect's hair is nicely braided. She probably easily picked up 10 kg. She goes to withdraw money and walks with 1 guard to the ATM in town. She returns calmly full of jokes and conversations ... the other 4 eat delicious KFC ...
They live well, they go on with their lives ... my parents and sister do not have that privilege ... We do not have that privilege!!

We went to look at where the bodies of our people, all of us, were thrown away ... We drove slowly, carefully along the rocky road, up to Daddy's beloved edges. They also rode like that, along with the 5 people with murder and hatred in their eyes ... Cruel and unapproachable.

Up there we could look out over the whole Vaalharts. It's so beautiful ... Heart place .... But where so much blood, sweat lay, our heart's in pieces also lay. I was wondering if they noticed it on that last ride ..? Or, was the fear too much and did they just prayed silently?

They had to walk through the thorn bushes, my sister barefoot, the bushes scratched her legs to pieces, but they certainly could not think of that because they had to know how it would end ..? Fear and anxiety come to sit on my chest ... I touch the thorn branches, maybe just to try to hold on to them ...

And there, in the cold winter air, they were thrown away ... And after all that, the suspects ate KFC and insist on all sorts of privileges ...

And we're trying to keep going. We drive home. Broken. Searching for answers, for peace, for acceptance. And somewhere in the Karoo on a mountain is a message ... Life ..."

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
  • "According to the post-mortem, Dan died due to a head injury caused by a blunt object and Breggie due to multiple wounds to her head and neck caused by blunt and sharp objects. Elzabie was severely assaulted and died of strangulation. Dr. Lemaine Fouché testified that Breggie had a horizontal wound of 6 cm on her throat and also cuts on her arms. Breggie and Elzabie's eyes were pot blue and swollen, it was testified. According to Fouché, Elzabie had swelling and bleeding on the brain after being assaulted with a blunt object. Evidence further stated that Dan had several lacerations to his body. He had at least 11 wounds on his head which were also presumably caused by a blunt object. The post-mortem examination showed that he had bleeding on the brain, a fracture to his skull and that his right eye was also swollen and blue. The station commander of Marydale Police Station, Capt. Siyabonga Mpofu, who was the crime scene investigator at the time, described in court how the family's home was a bloodbath. The walls, doors and floors were bloodstained. A brown bloodstained towel was also found at the scene, he testified."
• 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
  • The case was postponed several times due to, among other things, outstanding DNA results at the police.
  • 06/09/2022:Donald Seoleseng (21), Tshepo Visagie (36), Realeboga Manyedi (20), Kgomotso Mpulwana (43) and Tsepaone Melato (20) appeared in the High Court in Kimberley on Monday. All charges against Manyedi have been dropped and the state will indicate on Tuesday whether it will use him as a state witness in the case.
  • The other four are facing three charges of murder, three charges of aggravated robbery, three charges of kidnapping and three charges of obstruction of justice.
  • 23/05/2023: The court proceedings in the murder case of the Brand family from Vaalharts in the Northern Cape were delayed on Monday because one of the suspects, Kgomotso Mpulwana, first wanted to visit a bank to withdraw money. According to Reinette Liebenberg, from the DA, the blame for this delay lies with officers from the Department of Correctional Services (DKD), who took the accused to the bank knowing that she had to be in court. "The case has already been delayed because the DNA results were awaited. We cannot tolerate further delays in the justice system. The system is already under pressure and there is a big backlog in cases," says Liebenberg. The DA will refer the matter to the national commissioner of DCD for further investigation. Seoleseng is also facing a charge of escaping from custody. All charges were dropped against a fifth suspect, Realeboga Manyedi (20), in September last year. He is now a state witness.
  • 28/05/2023: The trial of Donald Seoleseng (21), Tshepo Visagie (36), Kgomotso Mpulwana (43) and Tsepaone Melato (20) resumed on 15 May this year in the High Court in Kimberley, during which the state continued to present its case. The state closed its case on Friday (May 26). The case resumes again between 10 and 14 July, when the defense will present their case.
  • 20/05/2024: The murder hearing against Donald Seoleseng, 23, Tshepo Visagie, 39, Kgomotso Mpumlwana, 46, and Tsepaone Melato, 22, resumed Monday in the Kimberley High Court. Mpumlwana and Melato will testify in court this week and then be taken under cross-trial. Melato denies any involvement in the case. The murder trial runs until Thursday.

Additional Biographical Information:

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.is/rJc7A
• https://archive.is/H2Sbt
• https://archive.is/45F0P
• https://youtu.be/XRg5wq7jvn8 - mini documentary (7 minutes)
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/307481347089713/permalink/466268611...
• http://archive.is/z8HZD
• http://archive.is/RB4VF
• http://archive.is/T2GtF
• http://archive.is/I7kyy
• http://archive.is/i4rM1
• http://archive.is/8DKsC
• http://archive.is/wita7
• http://archive.is/57dzf
• http://archive.is/P5J6k
• http://archive.is/xlv9t
• https://archive.ph/4tHxo
• https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3322393914520814&...
• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Jan 14 2023, 17:39:32 UTC