Farmer, 71, stabbed and robbed in EL

Attackers speed off with bakkie, cash and pellet gun

EASTERN Cape police have launched a manhunt for four knife-wielding men following an attack on a 71-year-old Eastern Cape farmer yesterday.

Brian Ristow was attacked and robbed on his East Coast farm outside East London yesterday, before the suspects sped off in his Isuzu bakkie, registration numberFWJ 103 EC, with cellphones, an undisclosed amount of cash and a pellet gun.

The attack on Ristow is the latest in a wave of attacks on Eastern Cape farmers in recent months.

Farmers have asked for protection from the state and police as they feel under siege from criminals. They also hired private security firms to protect them as they understand police might take a while to get to their farms as they are normally isolated.

Following the killing of Jason Winrow at his Bluewater farm in August, Agri-Eastern Cape chairman Douglas Stern said communities would also form visible patrols.

Stern night.

Ristow was rushed to Medicross clinic in East London, where he was treated and discharged the same day, his wife Jouma said.

A police source, who cannot be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said one man had arrived at the farm, which sells animal feed, posing as a buyer.

“The victim saw him kneeling near the shed and when he asked him if he could help, he said he wanted feed for pigs.”

When Ristow turned to fetch the feed he was hit on the head and fell down.

“Three more came out of nowhere and joined in the brutal onslaught, kicking the man while he was down and demanding money.

“The car was spotted by a witness leaving the farm, speeding in the direction of Mthatha,” said the source.

Mdantsane police spokesman Captain Nkosikho Mzuku said the men were believed to be between 20 to 30 years old.

When the Daily Dispatch arrived at the quiet farm on East Coast Resorts Road between Inkwenkwezi Game Reserve and N2 junction, police were still looking for clues at the crime scene.

A traumatised Ristow broke down and wept when the Dispatch tried to interview him.

“They wanted to kill me, that’s all they wanted to do,” he said. could not be contacted last

Jouma said her husband was too traumatised to speak to the media.

“This thing is still very fresh, we just brought him here from Medicross and I wish we could just allow him to rest and recover,” she said.

Ristow’s son Andrew, who was away at the time, said the family would only speak about the incident once his father had fully recovered.

He slammed the Daily Dispatch for trying to write about the incident and threatened to sue the newspaper if it published the attack on his father.

Wellwishers from neighbouring farms were at the farm, giving support to the Ristow family.

Dressed in denim shorts that exposing the bruises on his legs, Ristow told a detective at the scene that the men had attacked him and demanded money. He was feeding his animals on the farm at about 10am when the attackers pounced.

Mzuku said Bluewater police were investigating a case of farm attack and theft of motor vehicle.

“Police crime scene experts, including detectives, descended on the scene, combing it for every little detail that could lead to the apprehension of the suspects,” Mzuku said.

Police have urged anyone with information about the incident to contact the investigating officer, Constable Akhona Waphi, on (043) 851-1540 or 082-441-8966. —