Marais family of Wesselsbron targetted by cops and hired killers
Armed attack by six uniformed ‘cops’ created permanent
fear, trauma for Marais farm family in Wesselsbron.
Four alleged contract-killers were captured by
Wesselsbron Farm-Watch in October 2010. It is reported that the killers had
allegedly been paid from R1,000 each or more to Kill Mr. Marais. The farmer
testified as the State’s star witness in a high-level corruption and conspiracy
trial which allegedly even involved a high-level ANC member in the Free State
Legislature. The wealthly farmer and businessman testified that he and his
family were the targets of a stream of death-threats after the men were
arrested. The family was attacked by four black police officers, an ex-cop who
is the brother of a leading ANC-MEC in the FS legislature. He testified: “We
try to stay positive but it’s not so easy every day, to know that our lives are
still being threatened. We have lost all our faith in the police.” Despite
repeated threats against his life and that of his family, and the fact that
four contract-killers had already been captured by the local Marnet farm watch
when they were trying to kill him, Marais courageously testified yesterday in
the corruption-trial of the six unnamed, highly-placed black Free State men.
Marais had also testified on 4 October 2010 that four hired black killers had
also been sent from Gauteng to his farm to kill him so that he would not be
able to testify at their corruption trial yesterday. Members of the local
farm-watch Marnet captured the men in a road block on his farm…
The Boer businessman’s testimony was backed up by
SAPS inspector Nico Smith who testified that he himself also was threatened
with contract-killers if he pursued his investigation – and that it was
established that the four black men arrested by the farm-watch while trying
kill Marais, had been paid R1,000 ($100) each for it. Smith also handed in
signed and sworn statements from specific, well-informed prisoners at
Odendaalsrust confirming that a contract-killing was taken out against Marais.
Volksblad journalist Tom de Wet has attended the
trial throughout its long process. He wrote that the six black men on trial for
corruption – four black police officers, one black ex-police officer and the
brother of an ANC-MEC in the Free State legislature — had shown up at the
Marais farm dressed in police uniform, and attacked the family, holding them up
at gunpoint.
Mr Marais had to install thousands of Rands worth of
security equipment, now has to pack a gun every day for self-protection as the
family “very likely still being earmarked as targets by contract-killers. It would
be impossible for the family to join the witness-protection programme because
of his business interests and his farm. His attorney Tom Bothma confirmed that
Marais has lodged a civilian damages-law suit of more than R2,8millionagainst
the SAPS. Newspapers first described the attacks as having been carried out by
‘bogus police officers.” However — instead they turned out to be on-duty cops,
a former cop and the brother of a high-level ANC- provincial MEC who used
official police-vehicles to carry out their ‘hit’.
