Namibia: Boy tortured on southern farm
Police have opened a case over claims that three men beat and tortured a 14-year-old boy on a farm in southern Namibia after they accused him of stealing a cellphone.
Ruben Koortzen Jnr (18), Jaco Hanekom (18) and Cornelius de Bruyn (19) made their second court appearance before the Aroab magistrate’s court on Monday on charges of attempted murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The minor is allegedly related to a worker employed at the farm and the three alleged attackers work on the farm Rooikoppe, which is being leased by Koortzen’s father, Ruben Koortzen Snr.
It is alleged the trio attacked the minor with pipes and fists before he was strung up with a rope around his neck attached to a roof beam.
The attack lasted between two and three hours, according to witnesses who spoke to the police.
It is further alleged that after the attack, the victim was told to clean up the debris left over from the attack on him. The accused men are out on bail of N$1 000 and the case was postponed to 18 May.
Witnesses claim that the incident started when Koortzen, Hanekom and De Bruyn confronted the youngster over the alleged theft of a cellphone.
It is alleged they then started beating him with a pipe and their fists.
According to the boy he eventually confessed to the theft, but he later told police it was a false confession made in an attempt to stop the beating. He told his attackers the phone was in the farmhouse.
When he was unable to produce the phone, the men allegedly tied a rope around his neck and slung it across a beam on the veranda.
Witnesses claimed two of the men then stood behind him and pulled the rope tight each time he refused to admit to the theft.
Eventually, he was released. Witnesses told police that the boy fled into the bush, followed by the three men who could not find him.
When he returned in the afternoon he was allegedly ordered to “clean up the mess” created during his attack.
Police say he eventually fled the farm on a bicycle.
The police say they have received reports that the boy has since returned to the farm where the alleged attack took place.
Rooikoppe is allegedly being leased by Koortzen’s father, Ruben Koortzen Snr, a farmer whose primary farm Arbeidsgenot is situated in the Maltahöhe district close to the Swartrand escarpment.
The exact date of the incident remains unclear but is alleged to have taken place roughly a month ago. Police say they were only alerted one week after the minor had fled the farm.
He was discharged from hospital shortly after the incident and the extent of his injuries remain unclear.
Ruben Koortzen Jnr (18), Jaco Hanekom (18) and Cornelius de Bruyn (19) made their second court appearance before the Aroab magistrate’s court on Monday on charges of attempted murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The minor is allegedly related to a worker employed at the farm and the three alleged attackers work on the farm Rooikoppe, which is being leased by Koortzen’s father, Ruben Koortzen Snr.
It is alleged the trio attacked the minor with pipes and fists before he was strung up with a rope around his neck attached to a roof beam.
The attack lasted between two and three hours, according to witnesses who spoke to the police.
It is further alleged that after the attack, the victim was told to clean up the debris left over from the attack on him. The accused men are out on bail of N$1 000 and the case was postponed to 18 May.
Witnesses claim that the incident started when Koortzen, Hanekom and De Bruyn confronted the youngster over the alleged theft of a cellphone.
It is alleged they then started beating him with a pipe and their fists.
According to the boy he eventually confessed to the theft, but he later told police it was a false confession made in an attempt to stop the beating. He told his attackers the phone was in the farmhouse.
When he was unable to produce the phone, the men allegedly tied a rope around his neck and slung it across a beam on the veranda.
Witnesses claimed two of the men then stood behind him and pulled the rope tight each time he refused to admit to the theft.
Eventually, he was released. Witnesses told police that the boy fled into the bush, followed by the three men who could not find him.
When he returned in the afternoon he was allegedly ordered to “clean up the mess” created during his attack.
Police say he eventually fled the farm on a bicycle.
The police say they have received reports that the boy has since returned to the farm where the alleged attack took place.
Rooikoppe is allegedly being leased by Koortzen’s father, Ruben Koortzen Snr, a farmer whose primary farm Arbeidsgenot is situated in the Maltahöhe district close to the Swartrand escarpment.
The exact date of the incident remains unclear but is alleged to have taken place roughly a month ago. Police say they were only alerted one week after the minor had fled the farm.
He was discharged from hospital shortly after the incident and the extent of his injuries remain unclear.
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