Willem Jacobus Christiaan Botha

Willem Jacobus Christiaan Botha (1965 - 2007)

Brief overview:

Willem (41), was shot dead on his farm in front of his son on Tuesday night. Willem, his wife Karla (39), and little Tiaan (9), moved into the farm last Saturday after buying it so his hearing-impaired son could one day have a future as a farmer.

Botha was the owner of Hippo Velddienste, a car repair company in that town, and recently bought the farm Mosterthoek about 6 km outside the town on the Burgersfort road. Among other things, he kept cattle on the 85 ha farm.

"He bought the farm mainly because he was afraid Tiaan might have problems finding a job in the future because of his hearing impairment," Hoffman said.

Botha and Tiaan arrived at the farm shortly after 19:00 on Tuesday evening. While Botha was standing next to the bakkie, two men rushed at him and shot him in the chest. He managed to fire four shots at his attackers himself before falling dead in the bakkie. The attackers ran away without stealing anything. Tiaan saw through the window his father being shot dead.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
  • Karla Botha was still in Lydenburg at the time of the murder.
• 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.
  • Hoffman believes Botha's murder could be the result of a vengeance because he has received threats over the past few months from someone he believes owes money to. "He was also involved in a lawsuit."

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • Donald Mathebula escaped from prison on 4 November 2007, he was jailed for murdering Willem Botha.

Additional Biographical Information:

• Official cause of death : Unnatural causes
• https://www.graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=2815621

Links to Media articles:

• https://www.facebook.com/VFplus/posts/10152590096474453
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000188260735945