‘We don’t kill’ – murderers lie

An enjoyable evening watching the rugby turned into a nightmare for the ­Potgieter family, who live on a ­smallholding in the Marikana district in North West.
Issue date 25 May 2007

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An enjoyable evening watching the rugby turned into a nightmare for the ­Potgieter family, who live on a ­smallholding in the Marikana district in North West. The family and guests were overpowered by attackers in their home, after which Willie Potgieter was shot and killed. The attackers tied them up with electrical cords and said they were looking for guns, but Marieta responded saying they didn’t have any. Then they asked for money and food. As Willie was not in the room with them, Marieta enquired about her husband. The attackers responded by saying “Everything is OK. We don’t kill.”

The attackers were angered after ­discovering a revolver in the safe. They obtained the code for the safe from Willie Jr (15). Marieta tried to pacify them by saying she did not understand what they were looking for. The attackers then locked her, her sister Riana and Willie Jr in a workroom. After some time they managed to free themselves. They knocked a hole in the wall with a hammer and eventually broke through the door. They then pressed their panic button and contacted the police. It was then that she walked out and discovered her husband in the lapa, in a pool of blood. Boeta du Toit, CEO of Agri North West, said the area in which the murder took place is a hot spot for farm attacks. – Wilma den Hartigh