A family from Kriel in Mpumalanga lost everything after their house was set on fire shortly after a robbery on Monday night.
Larry Cronje, a wheat and beef farmer, told Maroela Media that he and his wife Jana, and their four young children were away on holiday near Pongola in Kwazulu-Natal when they received a call alerting them of the fire at their house.
Cronje said that an unknown number of attackers, who according to the police were looking for money had forcefully entered the house.
“We know that the suspects were looking for money, as all other items such as television sets, and computers were burnt during the fire. There was no money in the house, except for a few Canadian notes which they stole,” said Cronje.
According to Cronje, the suspects tried to break open the safe. “they could not break open the door of the safe and instead broke a hole in the wall in an attempt to access the safe. They only took one gun and left the others, presumably because there was no ammunition, as I made sure none was visible,” he said.
Cronje said the police suspect that the attackers set the house on fire because they could not access the CCTV footage and were probably scared of being identified at a later stage. Of course, the data is burnt due to the fire, and it is perhaps what the attackers wanted.
The Cronje couple and their four children will immigrate to Canada shortly. According to him it is a decision made a long time ago, and it is events such as this that make him thankful for deciding to immigrate. “I a sorry to say, but all the motivation to move leaves one thinking that the right decision was taken. Now we do not have to chose what goes with us to Canada, we will go as we are,” said Cronje.
Sergent Gerald Sedibe, a provincial police spokesperson, confirmed the incident to Maroela Media and said that a case of house robbery and arson would be investigated.
The police as such do not have any leads or information about the suspects. The farm workers saw the house go up in flames and immediately tried to stop the fire from spreading and called the emergency services.
The police were unable to gather any further information and are currently investigating all leads received. Anybody with information regarding the robbery and fire is requested to call 071 731 7034.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Maroela Media
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