A livestock white farmer in South Africa is in critical condition after being brutally attacked by black intruders on his farm. The attackers shot him in the back, stabbed him in the leg, cut off his ears and attempted to cut off his genitals, according to thesouthafrican.com.
The victim is 50-year-old Donovan Marx, who raises cattle on a farm near the town of Potchefstroom, in a South African province. He is being treated in hospital in critical but stable condition, while the two assailants remain at large.
According to the report, the incident occurred yesterday, Wednesday, while the 50-year-old was home alone. His wife, Louise, had left for work.
The two assailants initially attacked a farmworker who was in a barn. After restraining and tying him up, they headed toward the main house.
There, they shot Marx in the shoulder and stabbed him in the leg. The farmer collapsed in a pool of blood, but the attackers did not stop.
According to witness accounts, they held him down, mocked him and then cut off both his ears, chopping them into small pieces.
The assailants also allegedly threatened to mutilate his genitals, but the timely arrival of help prevented them from carrying out the threat.
The worker who had been tied up in the barn managed to free himself and call for help. The assailants fled the scene without managing to steal valuables from the farm, using the 50-year-old’s vehicle to make their escape.
Farmer in Critical Condition – What His Family Says
The injured man was rushed to Mediclinic Potchefstroom hospital, where doctors began treating his multiple injuries.
According to the hospital, his condition is described as “critical but stable.”
The victim’s son-in-law, Pieter Steyn, said the family could not understand why the attackers had acted with such brutality.
“Donovan was shot in the shoulder and stabbed in the leg, and we don’t know why they tortured him,” he said.
“He hasn’t been able to speak to us yet, and what happened once again shows how violent attacks on farms in South Africa have become. These violent attacks are completely out of control,” he added.
He said he believed the attackers’ objective went beyond robbery.
“The motive is obviously not simply to steal something. There is something more going on,” he claimed.
Describing the circumstances of the attack, he said: “The attackers tied up the farmworker and then tortured Donovan. But the worker managed to free himself and call for help, which arrived quickly. As far as we know, the worker was not injured.”
“They Cut His Ears into Small Pieces” – A Neighbor’s Account
Even more chilling is the account given by a neighbor and friend of the victim, who described the attack in a social media post.
“Donovan is our neighbor and friend. They shot him from behind, and the bullet exited through his abdomen. They cut off both his ears,” he wrote.
He said the 50-year-old’s ears were recovered at the scene and taken to the hospital.
“The problem is that they cut them into small pieces, and they still don’t know whether they can be reattached,” he claimed.
According to the neighbor, the attackers also attempted to mutilate the farmer’s genitals, but the appearance of a farmworker forced them to abandon the attempt and flee in the victim’s vehicle.
Attack Condemned as Calls Grow for a Thorough Investigation
Police and ambulance crews arrived at the scene shortly after the attack.
Ian Cameron, a member of parliament for the Democratic Alliance who chairs the parliamentary committee overseeing the work of South Africa’s police service, condemned the violent attack.
“Not every farm attack involves torture, but the deliberate cruelty seen in some of these incidents must be addressed honestly. Both victims deserve appropriate support,” he said.
Cameron also described previous cases in which he had personally visited crime scenes.
“I have personally visited the scenes of farm attacks where victims had been subjected to severe torture, including having boiling water thrown over them or poured down their throats,” he said.
“People have suffered burns inflicted with clothes irons, or had holes drilled into their hands and feet. Some attacks involve prolonged hostage-taking and torture lasting many hours,” he added.
The lawmaker stressed that the length of time victims are held captive, the severity of the violence and the isolation of rural properties must all be taken into account when planning emergency responses.
He also warned against downplaying the seriousness of these attacks by comparing them with other forms of violent crime.
“No political leader should applaud or justify violence against farmers or farmworkers,” he emphasized, calling on the provincial police to assign the case to experienced investigators so that evidence could be gathered that would withstand judicial scrutiny and help support the victims.
Captain Majang Skalkie, a police spokesperson in the North West province, said authorities were still gathering information about the attack and that a further update would be issued.
No arrests have been made so far.
Political Reactions to Violence on Farms
The attack was first condemned by the country’s agriculture minister. In a statement, Willie Aucamp said, among other things, that the brutality of the attack highlighted the danger faced daily by South Africans living in rural areas.
The attack was also condemned by Dr. Corné Mulder, leader of the right-wing Freedom Front Plus party.
“The attack on Mr. Marx was extremely violent, and our prayers are with him and his loved ones,” he said.
Mulder argued that such attacks are often accompanied by extreme violence and torture and, in his view, should not be treated as ordinary crimes.
He again called on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to acknowledge the seriousness of farm murders and attacks and to take concrete action.
“As long as the country’s president denies the existence of farm murders and fails to put an end to the incitement of attacks against farmers, these attacks will continue,” he claimed.
He said the full details of the torture inflicted on Marx were too shocking to be made public.
Second Attack in One Week – Woman Beaten to Death
The attack on Donovan Marx is the second reported assault on a farm in the same province within a single week.
In an earlier incident, a farmer’s wife was beaten to death with an iron bar while opening the security gate of their rural property in the Ottosdal area.
Her husband found her covered in blood, and she succumbed to her injuries while being transported to hospital.
The Dispute over Attacks on White Farmers in South Africa
Attacks on farms owned by white citizens are the subject of intense political and social debate in South Africa.
Farmers argue that the government does not take crimes against them seriously enough. They consider the attacks targeted and particularly violent, although the authorities classify them as part of the country’s broader crime problem.
According to the figures cited in the report, approximately 40 to 72 murders occur on farms each year.
The South African government counters that this figure must be considered in the context of the country’s overall crime rate, where approximately 75 homicides occur every day.
However, protesters and organizations representing rural communities are calling for these attacks to be recognized as a distinct category of crime, pointing to the extreme torture and prolonged abuse suffered by some victims.
White South Africans Are Being Targeted
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly intervened in the debate, claiming that a white genocide is taking place in South Africa. He has argued that white farmers are being targeted, murdered and stripped of their property.
The U.S. government has changed its refugee admissions and asylum procedures, giving particular priority to white South Africans who face persecution.
The South African government, for its part, categorically rejects claims of racial genocide, pointing out that high levels of violent crime and attacks on farms affect people from all racial groups.
Previous Cases of Torture
The report also recalls other farm attacks that sparked widespread outrage because of their brutality.
In 2021, seven armed men broke into the isolated farm of 47-year-old livestock farmer Neil Bierman in Mpumalanga province. His 43-year-old wife, Sonia, and their three young sons were at home.
After forcing the family at gunpoint to open a safe and finding no valuables, the attackers put their six-year-old son inside an oven and threatened to burn him alive.
In another case, which occurred the previous year, 70-year-old livestock farmer Role Uys survived an extremely violent attack on her farm in the Carolina area of the same province.
According to the account of the incident, the attackers restrained her and began boiling water in a kettle, which they then poured over her.
The woman was tortured for more than an hour as the attackers laughed and repeatedly reheated the water to continue abusing her.
After inflicting burns on her head and face, they struck her with the kettle, covered her face with adhesive tape, chained her up and piled furniture on top of her, leaving her behind believing she would die.
Despite the severity of her injuries, the 70-year-old was found alive by people who visited the property, and she survived.
The latest attack on Donovan Marx has once again brought the issue of security in South Africa’s remote rural areas to the forefront. The police investigation is continuing, with the two assailants still at large.
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