South African police have arrested five individuals in connection with a violent attack on cattle farmer Donovan Marx, who was shot, stabbed, and had his ears cut off during a house robbery. The incident occurred last Wednesday on Marx's farm in Ventersdorp, North West province.
According to police statements, a group of armed, masked men ambushed Marx as he returned home. They had previously accosted a farm worker, tying him up before demanding to know Marx's whereabouts. Upon Marx's arrival, two suspects allegedly shot him in the upper body. The attackers then dragged him inside, tied his hands and feet, and proceeded to stab him, the police said. They ransacked the house, stole three firearms, and fled in Marx's van. The farm worker managed to free himself and call for help.
Marx, 50, was transported to a hospital where he remains. Surgeons were reportedly unable to save his ears, and he may require prosthetics, according to local news site IOL.
South Africa's Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp condemned the attack as "senseless and barbaric." The chair of parliament's police committee, Ian Cameron, praised the swift arrests and called for a thorough investigation.
The five suspects, aged between 26 and 56, are expected to appear in court on Tuesday facing charges including house robbery, attempted murder, and illegal possession of firearms.
This attack has drawn attention to claims by some right-wing groups of a genocide against white people in South Africa, a notion widely discredited by political parties within the country. Former US President Donald Trump has previously repeated these claims and offered asylum to white Afrikaners. Official crime statistics for South Africa do not specify farm attacks, and police data indicate that the majority of crime victims in the country, including on farms, are Black.