Farmer wants R4.5m from SANDF

Force members who claimed they were in a roadblock deny firing shots

THE OWNER of Alicedale Estate in Musina, Limpopo, is claiming R4.5 million in damages from the Minister of Defence after he drove over a spiked metal trap strip laid across a road.

He then had to face bullets fired by members of the SANDF.

Peter Nicholson, 60, told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, he never noticed a roadblock in the dark and thought he was being ambushed.

He was not injured by the semi-automatic rifle fire, but told the court he now suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.

SANDF members, who claimed they were conducting a routine roadblock, denied firing shots at Nicholson.

The court, however, found that the SANDF was 100% liable for the damages Nicholson could prove he suffered.

He told the court that on the night of April 20, 2015, he was driving along the R525 road between Tshipise and Bokmakierie, when his vehicle suddenly struck a metal trap strip across the road, which punctured all four tyres.

But the most terrifying was when he heard the sound of semi-automatic rifles fire in the dark. He managed to drive on despite the flat tyres and sought refuge at the closest farmhouse, where he phoned the police.

The police arrested soldiers and military police members stationed at SMG Military Base Musina. Nicholson laid charges of attempted murder and intimidation against them, but up to now nothing came of these charges.

Nicholson said that night the estate experienced load shedding. When the power came back on, he drove from his home to the office on the estate. At the main gate to the estate, a security guard posted there told him he had heard gunshots in the area.

Nicholson said as they had major problems in the area with poachers, he decided to drive out of the estate to see if he could see anything suspicious.

“When I passed the end of my farm, I heard shouting on the left-hand side of the road.

“I ignored the shouting and drove on. A very bright light was shone from the front of the road in my direction. It blinded me.”

He said the next thing, he saw an object across the road, but because of the speed he was travelling at, he could not avoid it. “I did not realise what was happening and the next moment a person dressed as if he was in the military and with a semi-automatic weapon appeared on the right of me.”

Nicholson said he realised he was in trouble when shots were fired at him. He drove on the rims of his wheels to the nearest farmhouse.

He said after the police arrived he went back to the scene with them to ask the military why they were shooting at him on a public road.

“They said it was a case of mistaken identity,” he said.

The military at the time had two informers with them, who disappeared from the scene when the police arrived.

Nicholson said apart from his rights being trampled on when he was shot at for no reason, he still had vivid memories of the incident and suffered from nightmares.

A psychiatrist diagnosed him as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Except for admitting that “one round of ammunition was fired in the air as a warning”, the SANDF remained tightlipped about what actually happened that night. It, however, denied it was conducting a roadblock at the time.