Composer bashed on head during break-in

SOUTH African ethnomusicologist, promoter and African music composer Andrew Tracey was bashed on the head with a hammer and held hostage with his wife after two men broke into his Grahamstown home at the weekend

The 80-year-old retired Rhodes University professor, who is well-respected and an active member of the community, was at home with his wife Heather when the men entered their home.

The suspects fled with money, a laptop and cellphone.

The couple’s friend, Ben Carver, who was one of the first people to arrive on the scene with his brother Christian, said one of the suspects was wellknown to the family.

Carver said one man bashed Tracey on the forehead before tying the couple to a chair with an electrical cord.

The suspects took the professor’s bank card and obtained his pin code.

One man then went to an ATM and withdrew R3 000 from the account.

Bizarrely, on his return to the house, the suspect gave the bank card back to Tracey.

“My brother and I were just a few kilometres away when we got the call,” Carver said

“We found him [Tracey] bleeding profusely. He has suffered extensive injury to his nose.

“The suspects had entered through the back door. One of them is well-known to the couple as they helped pay his tuition, fed him and let him stay here regularly.”

Heather managed to press a panic button and the suspects fled with R3 000, a laptop and cellphone.

Carver said the suspects had left a pair of scissors on the table for the couple to untie themselves.

Hi Tech security company members who responded to the panic alarm managed to arrest one of the suspects, allegedly still in possession of the laptop, the cellphone and the cash.

Grahamstown police spokesman Khaya Tonjeni confirmed a 22-year-old man was in police custody.