Michiel Willem Odendaal Roos

Colonel M.W.O Roos (1933 - 1998)

Brief overview:

Col. Roos (65), and his wife Anna Elizabeth Roos (60) lived on the farm Coerland in the district of Fouriesburg, on the border with Lesotho. They were attacked and killed on their farm on 31st October 1998 by the Tsoenyane brothers, who came from Lesotho.

That evening the Tsoenyane gang gained entry to the house, shooting the Roos couple were shot with a shotgun at short range, execution style. They plundered the house and stole various items, including a rifle and a .38 special revolver. Their bodies were discovered the next morning by one of the workers who went to investigate. The attackers fled back to Lesotho, but attempts to extradite the attackers to South Africa failed.

Two of the brothers, Ramaketsi Tshoenyane (18) and Maketi Tsoenyane (25) were arrested, however, when they again entered South Africa. They were indicted in the Free State High Court on 5th August 2002 and convicted on two counts of murder, one of housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances and also for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. For the murders the elder brother was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment and the younger one to fifteen years on each count. For the housebreaking and robbery they received fifteen and ten years imprisonment respectively. The accused were part of a gang operating from Lesotho, and were suspected of having carried out other farm attacks as well.

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
• 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://africacheck.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Final-Report-Com...
• https://archive.is/KaTTx
• https://graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=2338976