Five arrested after South African cattle farmer shot and tortured

Five people have been arrested in connection with an attack on South African cattle farmer Donovan Marx, who was shot, stabbed and tortured during a robbery at his home. Marx, 50, was ambushed last Wednesday at his farm in Ventersdorp, a small town in North West province. Police said his attackers also cut off his ears.

The arrests took place over the weekend and were welcomed by Marx's wife and family, who said the legal process should now take its course. The attack has prompted widespread outrage in South Africa, where levels of violence are already high.

According to a police account released last week, masked men carrying guns first confronted a worker who was mowing the lawn at Marx's house. They demanded to know the farmer's whereabouts, then restrained the worker's hands and feet with cable ties. When Marx arrived home, two suspects allegedly approached him and shot him in the upper body.

Police said the attackers pulled Marx into the house, bound his hands and feet with cable ties and allegedly stabbed him. They searched the property and stole three firearms from a safe before fleeing in his van. The worker eventually freed himself and called for help, bringing the ordeal to an end.

Marx was taken urgently to hospital and remains there. Local news website IOL reported that surgeons could not save his ears and that he may require prosthetic replacements. Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp condemned the violence, saying there was no place in South Africa for such “senseless and barbaric acts”.

Ian Cameron, who chairs parliament's police committee, welcomed the speed of the arrests and urged investigators to build a strong case. The suspects, whose ages range from 26 to 56, are due in local courts on Tuesday. They face charges of house robbery, attempted murder and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

Attacks on white farmers, many of whom belong to the Afrikaner community, have been cited by some right-wing groups to promote widely discredited claims of genocide against white South Africans. Every political party in the country, including parties representing Afrikaners, has rejected those claims. US President Donald Trump has nevertheless repeated them and offered white Afrikaners asylum in the United States.

The latest South African crime figures, covering April to June 2026, do not identify the number of attacks on farms and record only one robbery in a rural area. Police data show that black people account for most crime victims in South Africa, including victims on farms.