A FARMER allegedly mowed down a six-year-old boy for stealing an orange, breaking both of his legs in front of his screaming mum.
Accused Christoffel Stoman, 70, has appeared in court for the attempted murder of Khwezi Jantijies – and has showed no remorse, the boy’s mum claims.
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The young boy and his mum, Magdalene Jantijies, were walking along a road at around noon on Friday September 20 when a vehicle with a trailer attached reportedly hit them and ran over the six-year-old.
Stoman, the farmer, accused Khwezi of stealing an orange from his farm.
The six-year-old consequently suffered horrific injuries – including two broken legs.
Mum Magdalene said she and her son had walked past the accused farmer’s smallholding when making their way to town to do some food shopping, EWN reports.
Khwezi reportedly stopped to pick up an orange that was on the ground before attempting to reach through a fence and grab another one that was on the ground as well.
The emotional mum recalled the terrifying incident, saying she heard accused Stoman scream before ramming into them both, pinning them against a fence.
Magdalene said to eNCA: “He came from around the corner and he was driving at a speed.
“He shouted ‘stand there, stand there.’ I thought he was going to stop. He aimed directly at us in a corner, and I screamed, Help! Help!
“He said, ‘I’m going to kill you by driving into you.'”
The horrific case has caused uproar within the community, with locals claiming that it is not the first time Stoman has committed this kind of crime, according to eNCA.
Local community activist Billy Claasan is pleading with lawmakers to toughen the consequences on farmers committing crimes.
He also alleges that the suspect told cops that he “would do it again”, IOL reports.
Young Khwezi had to endure an operation at Paarl Hospital and has since been transferred back to Vredendal – near his family home.
The mum claims that she had no prior relationship to Stoman and following the incident said the farmer “showed no remorse” and didn’t offer “any assistance” to the pair, Sahara Reporters reports.
Magdalene said her and her six-year-old would now focus on his recovery and have plans to receive counselling after the traumatic event.
She added: “I aim to continue with this case. I want to proceed by the grace of God, as long as I can stand here.”
Stoman appeared in court on September 23, with police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie confirming that Lutzville cops “opened an attempted murder case”.
A case of reckless and negligent driving has also been opened.
The farmer will appear on court on Monday and is expected to apply for bail.
But the state says it will oppose bail due to the weight of the charges, sistance reports.
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