Vivien Mary Tillett

Vivien Mary Tillett (1920 – 2011)

Brief overview:

Vivien, who was 90-years-old at the time, was assaulted by two gunmen with sticks on the family farm in northern Zululand on Thursday 9th February 2011 at around 20h30. They gained entry to the property by breaking the lock on the gate. The attackers dragged her from her bed and into the backyard, where they beat her over the head and body. She sustained broken ribs and a sprained arm. Vivien never fully recovered from the attack and passed away on 7th November the same year.

Vivien's grandson Keith Lewis, was shot at, and a bullet grazed his face. He was also assaulted, put up a fierce fight to protect his grandmother. One of the perpetrators said to Keith that they were going to rape his grandmother and then kill her. He ran away hoping the two men would follow him and leave his grandmother alone. He ran outside up the dirt road towards town and waved down a police vehicle.

Doctor Jorgenson and helpful neighbours Peter and Alan Harrison spent the whole night with the family.

Keith said Vivien was so badly injured, she needed a hip replacement shortly afterwards.

The perpetrators were never found.

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:

Husband : Frederick Lewis Tillett
Children : Keith Douglas Tillett, John Tillett

Links to Media articles:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20110215085234/http://www.zululandobser...
• https://www.greengazette.co.za/documents/legal-notice-34860-of-23-d...