Western Cape farmers attack and ‘crack skull’ of job seeker Koopman
Community members of a small Karoo town of Murraysburgare demanding justice after a job seeker Anthony Koopman, was accused and attacked for stock theft sustaining injuries and a cracked skull.
The accused Karel van Heerden and his son Ludwig made their appeared in the Murraysburg Magistrate’s Court last Monday on charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Residents led by the Support Centre for Land Change (SCLC), an NGO operating in the Western and Eastern Cape, demonstration at the court in support of the victim.
The demonstrators lifted placards with words: “Justice for Anthony”.
It is reported that Koopman was ridding his bicycle to farms around his community to look for a job when he was stopped by two men accusing him of livestock theft.
His skull cracked when the men started hitting him in the head with a pistol.
SCLC revealed that the accused pointed a gun at his neck multiple times before threatening to run over him with a car.
Koopman was admitted in a hospital in George after he became unconscious.
Koopman has since began to suffer from epileptic seizures resulting from the attack , according to the SCLC.
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“As a result of his medical condition following the attack, the prospects of him finding employment have been narrowed down to such an extent that he now has to look for food at the dump site,” the SCLC said.
According to the Independent, the SCLC said they were worried about the conduct of the law enforcement agents as the charges were changed without the victim’s knowledge as he was not afforded legal representation.
The court will sit again on the 20th of October.
Western Cape farmers attack and ‘crack skull’ of job seeker Koopman.