Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has ordered a 72-hour activation plan to hunt down the suspects who brutally murdered a 71-year-old farmer and his 65-year-old wife on a farm in Levubu on Wednesday, 20 April.
"It is alleged that a passer-by noticed two strangers wandering around the premises. Apparently the two were about to leave the premises in the vehicle belonging to the farmer and were somehow disturbed and fled the scene on foot, leaving the vehicle full of properties belonging to the farmer behind," said provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malesela Ledwaba in a press release.
The police were notified and on arrival, they reportedly found the farmhouse on fire, with the farmer and his wife still inside. The victims were burned beyond recognition. They were identified as the 71-year-old Mr Louis Cloete and his 65-year-old wife, Ina.
Preliminary police investigations revealed that the farmer and wife were allegedly accosted by suspects who ransacked the farmhouse and took several items including firearms and loaded them into the family vehicle. They apparently then set the house alight before leaving.
"A task team comprising detectives from provincial, district and station levels have already been assembled to track down the killers. We therefore call on community members with information to come forward and assist the police in the investigations of this horrendous crime," said General Hadebe.
Police have opened cases of two counts of murder, house robbery and arson. Anyone with Information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects is requested to contact the investigating officer Captain Mashudu Lesley Muneri at Tel 082 469 1260, the Crime Stop number 08600 10111 or their nearest police station.