Piet de Jager

Piet de Jager (1944 - 2009)

Brief overview:

Piet (65), and his wife Alet de Jager (44), were found dead in the bedroom of their Karoo Valley farm, Laatsgevonden, on 8th October 2009. They had both been executed, with gunshot wounds to the head.

Captain Louis Visser said a family friend contacted the police when the couple could not be reached. "Police broke into the house and discovered the two bodies. A firearm belonging to Piet was found at the scene," Visser said. He could not say exactly when the couple died. "The suspicion is that they died between 8pm on Monday and 6pm on Wednesday," he said. There were no signs of forced entry into the house.

Limpopo MEC for safety and security Dikeledi Magadzi says it's possible the person who planned the murder of farmer Piet de Jager had been at a meeting on crime in the area. The farmer's son, Herman, said after the attack: "They didn't even take my father's watch from his arm or the credit card from his pocket." De Jager was shot dead on Saturday morning about 400m from his home when he went to switch off a water pump. At the anti-crime meeting, the day before the murder of De Jager plans had been discussed to put a stop to the crime wave in the area. Magadzi was speaking at an emergency meeting attended by the police, community leaders and the community policing forum.

Assistant commissioner Charles van Wyk announced on Monday afternoon that a R50,000 award would be given for information that could led to the arrest and conviction of the attackers. Policing forum head Anton Weyers said he and three other people who started the forum to tackle the crime situation in Levubu, had been attacked, hijacked and robbed several times. Magadzi was told of several complaints and she also heard suggestions on how to combat crime. She promised to give urgent attention to the matter.

Reservists are to be called up as soon as possible and members of the crime prevention unit in Thohoyandou will be deployed in the area for the next two weeks. Senior superintendent Ronnie van Niekerk of the area head office in Thohoyandou earlier acknowledged there were problems in the Levubu charge office and said the matter was receiving the highest priority.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
  • De Jager was buried from the Dutch Reformed Moederkerk in Makhado.
• 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:

• The Great South African Land Scandal: Dr. Philip du Toit
• "On September 27 2003, Levubu farmer Piet de Jager (65) was gunned down in front of his house, within earshot of his wife and two grandchildren. As he stumbled towards his front door, wounded and trying to warn his wife, she managed to lock the doors and press the panic button. His is not the first farm murder in the area. While de Jager’s son tried to revive his father with mouth to mouth resuscitation, the police stood around asking him for a statement. He suggested to them they close off farm roads to catch the killers, but they simply walked away. This killing sent a shock wave through the community. In 2003, seven farmers in the area were murdered, while crime increased 400% in one year. To her credit, the MEC for Safety and Security Ms. Dikaledi Magadzi quickly ordered the removal of the officer commanding the local police station. But the de Jager killing only exacerbated the tension which has built up over the government’s land reform policy, and the announcement that government land expropriations are on their way. Years and years of peaceful relationships between white and black in the area have been sullied by the new government’s land policy."
• https://archive.is/brwKl

Links to Media articles:

• http://archive.is/6uT0v
• https://web.archive.org/web/20190823203645/https://www.iol.co.za/ne...