A South African cattle farmer endured a brutal assault in his barn on Wednesday, with robbers shooting and stabbing him before hacking off his ears and attempting to castrate him. The victim, 50-year-old Donovan Marx, was attacked shortly after his wife left their farm.
Two assailants reportedly shot Marx in the back and stabbed him in the leg as he tried to flee. They then held him down and severed his ears, cutting them into pieces, according to a neighbor and friend who spoke to the New York Post. The robbers also attempted to castrate Marx, but fled the scene when a worker arrived. They escaped in Marx's farm pickup truck, reportedly taking none of his possessions.
The leader of South Africa's Freedom Front Plus party described the attack as "exceptionally brutal." Marx's brother-in-law, Pieter Steyn, expressed bafflement at the extreme violence, stating that the motive appeared to extend beyond simple robbery. "He has not been able to speak to us and what happened just goes to show once again how brutal farm attacks are in South Africa and these brutal attacks are out of control," Steyn said.
Authorities have not yet made any arrests in connection with the incident and have not indicated race as a motive. The attack occurred approximately five months after former President Donald Trump raised concerns about the potential genocide of white South African farmers during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Trump had shown Ramaphosa a video of Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, chanting "Revolution demands at some point there must be killing."
President Ramaphosa had stated that such rhetoric does not represent government policy. South Africa's white agricultural minister, Jan Steenhuisen, acknowledged that the country faces a significant "rural safety problem" that requires more policing resources and a revised strategy to address.