William Robert Voller

William "Bill" "Bo" Robert Voller (1936 - 1999)

Brief overview:

William (61), also known as Bill and Bo, a mango farmer from farm Dindinnie, was stabbed and shot on the night of Tuesday 30th November 1999. He was attacked by eight men when he went to investigate a noise outside his house near Tzaneen. He was shot in the neck. His wife, Vera Addison Voller (58), was attacked in the bedroom, and tied and gagged.

Extract:
"Bo Voller was a prominent mango farmer, near Tzaneen in the northern province. Two years ago, he became yet another victim of a farm attack. He was stabbed at least 20 times, then shot dead outside his house.

Hovheni Village, near the Voller farm, in the [inaudible] area. It was here the three of Bo Voller's attackers grew up and lived. It's a desperately poor community, dependent on the jobs provided by farmers. Voller was one of the biggest employers in the area.

In the early hours of 30 November 1999, five men attacked his farm, a sixth waited in the getaway car. Voller had just made his wife, Vera, her morning tea. When he went outside, the men stabbed and shot him. They then assaulted Mrs. Voller and tied her up. The killers fled with handguns and a few other items."

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • Below the letter from convicted killer Freddy Baloyi, written from prison, which was addressed to Lita Fourie of the charity Tabita, which assists traumatised victims of farm attacks.

"On the 28th November 1999, I, Freddy Baloyi, was at my work-place at Germiston, the name of the company that I was working for is May-Day Towing, lower Main Reef Road Number 56. Then came Ishamael Mushwana and his younger brother Vincent Mushwana. When they arrived, after exchanging greetings Ishmael introduced Vincent to me and told that he was his younger brother and was coming from Tzaneen.

He’s a tsotsi as you can see how he’s wearing. Even though you are working you cannot work like him. It is long he’s been breaking into the Boers houses, hence you see he’s expensively dressed. I then nodded with my head. Then from there, Vincent started talking on his own saying there’s a very rich white man near where h’s staying therefore there was a job.

He further said that white man might be having about R10million Rands and not less than R5million Rands. So you Freddy must come with us to rob him so that you can be able to drive your own BMW vehicle just like Ismael. He further said that since I was a Security Guard I am able to use a gun I started asking some questions from Ishmael about whether he knows this rich white man and he confirmed knowing him and that he was very rich. This was further confirmed by the fact that he’d made it possible for the local villagers to get tap water referring to Hallicy and Hovheni village. If we can just go there you can see with your own eyes"

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • The killers ransacked the house and stole three firearms, one of which was the murder weapon.
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • Six men were arrested after the incident following an intensive manhunt, police spokesperson Inspector Moatshe Ngoepe said. Two more suspects were found in Tembisa near Kempton Park. One of the men turned state's witness.
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction

Additional Biographical Information:

• May 2006

"Just last week a further 300 farm labourers lost their jobs as the Dindinnie Mango Farm in Sekororo, Limpopo, folded. Steven Voller, a quantity surveyor whose parents have farmed on the land for 30 years, said his family was reluctantly packing it all up and moving to Cape Town after a year of frustration. "We were one of the willing sellers, it took two years to process the claim and after months of delays we were finally paid out last year. We offered to stay on to mentor the new owners but nothing has come of it. So we are leaving," he said."

• https://archive.is/nTNfm
• ID Number : 3801145045082
• Official cause of death : Unnatural causes
• William married Vera Addison (born Castle) on 26/08/1965 *https://archive.is/4NGdJ
• The couple had four children

Links to Media articles:

• https://archive.is/KV1uy
• https://www.yumpu.com/nl/document/read/4451339/laai-af-die-lys-van-...
• http://www.hallowesgenealogy.co.uk/add06.htm
• https://www.journeyman.tv/film/1484 (Bitter Harvest - a short 25 minute documentary on the murders of William Robert Voller and Piet Potgieter, and the growing violence against South African farmers)
• https://www.journeyman.tv/film_documents/1484/transcript/
• https://archive.is/y4YyN