Nontembiso April

Nontembiso April (1954 - 2020)

Brief overview:

Nontembiso (56), and her husband, Takayina (66), were shot dead by two unmasked armed men on their Draaifontein farm in the Sakhisizwe area, Eastern Cape on 4th December 2020. The couples teenage son witnessed his parents murder.

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Colonel Sibongile Soci said, “According to information at the police’s disposal, two unknown men entered the farm pretending to be looking for their sheep. While the owner of the farm was responding to one of the suspects, [he] drew a firearm and started shooting. Both the husband and wife, 66 and 56, respectively, were fatally wounded and the suspects fled on foot.”

Extract from report:

"According to a joint statement from two farming associations and a civic organisation, the incident happened amid a long-standing land dispute in the area which the couple was actively trying to resolve - the Cala University Students Association (Calusa), Siyazakha Land and Development Forum as well as the Inyanda National Land Movement, called on the police to speedily bring the perpetrators to book. In the immediate term, we call upon the law enforcement agencies not to only investigate this heinous murder of the April couple, but to also provide protection to the remaining family members and other farm dwellers who are struggling for their land rights. We also call upon the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to assist the family members and farm dwellers in similar positions to gain undisturbed land rights to the land they utilise on the farm. The group added nothing was taken from the farm, fuelling speculation that it was a hit."

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://archive.is/q0PW2
• https://archive.is/IJ8Ct