Francois du Toit

Francois du Toit (1974 – 2012)

Francois (38), his wife Eunice and their two children were attacked at their farm in Roossenekal, in the Lydenburg / Groblersdal district, Mpumalanga on Sunday, January 23, 2012. Mrs. du Toit was awakened by flashlights shining through their bedroom window at 00:30. She woke her husband and told him there were people outside. du Toit got up and looked through the glass sliding door. When he turned to fetch his firearm next to his bedside box, he was shot from behind.

The attackers entered the room, walked around the bed and shot du Toit twice more. They ordered his wife to stand up and hand over the lock keys. The children were taken to the kitchen, ordered to lie down on the floor and then kicked. After Mrs. du Toit took the attackers to the safe and unlocked them, emptied it and fled with the couple's vehicles.

At this stage the heavily wounded Mr. du Toit was still alive. Mrs. du Toit, whilst bound, managed to shuffle on the ground to where she could find something to cut herself free and contacted neighbours on the two-way radio. Neighbours attempted to get Mr.du Toit into a vehicle but he died in their arms, a friend said.

The SAPS response time was 45 minutes, although the farm is only 25 km from the nearest town. Mrs. Du Toit is also not happy with the way the SAPS is handling the case. Apart from the poor reaction time, she had to make her statement three times. Both the forensic evidence and the dossier were filed at one stage. She says the police attitude was that they couldn't care less.

Brief overview:

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
  • Mrs. du Toit, the couple's son Francois (12) and daughter Stephanie (9) were taken to lapa outside where their hands and feet were bound with cable ties.
  • Mr. du Toit and his family lived on a game farm which is approximately 30 km outside Roossenekal. His parents live in another house on the farm.
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • The attackers stole guns, two pistols, money and cellphones from the house and then fled in two of Mr.du Toit's Nissan Navaras.
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • Three attackers were arrested and charged.
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • The case was heard in the High Court on November 3, 2015. However, all charges against two of the accused were withdrawn and one was found not guilty by reason of insufficient evidence. In response to the outcome of 17 the case, Mrs. Du Toit said she was bitterly disappointed and lost all confidence in the criminal justice system. She states that no attempt was made to find justice and it was as if the court heard a minor case of a stolen wallet - not that of a man, father and farmer who was brutally murdered.

Additional Biographical Information

Francois du Toit, worked as a nutritionist at Alzu Voere

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.ph/sEMZv
• http://archive.fo/sEMZv
• http://archive.fo/HEBs5
• http://web.archive.org/web/20120127041950/http://www.beeld.com/Suid...