- A man was arrested for the attempted murder of a woman on a Free State farm.
- He was arrested after an investigation by the woman's brother, a private investigator, and the police.
- The trail led across the Free State and Northern Cape, before the man was arrested in Colesberg.
Four towns, thousands of kilometres and 10 days are what it took for a man and police officers to track down and arrest the person who allegedly assaulted and attempted to rape his sister, and then left her for dead.
Rhyno Lombaard, a Durban-based private investigator, was expecting to join his sister, Beminde Jacobs, on a friend's farm in Trompsburg, Free State, for a hunting trip earlier this month.
But, the day before he left, he heard that Jacobs had been brutally beaten, allegedly by a farmworker.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Loraine Earle said that, on Monday, 4 July, the 63-year-old woman had come home from town to her friend's farm in the Trompsburg district.
"She came from another room in the house when she allegedly came across a farmworker in the house, going through drawers. Upon seeing her, the suspect grabbed, strangled and assaulted her, and then fled the scene. The victim was taken to a hospital in Bloemfontein for medical treatment. An attempted murder case was opened for investigation," said Earle.
Lombaard confirmed that Jacobs had found her alleged attacker in a bedroom, rifling through personal belongings. The man then allegedly turned on her, strangling her until she passed out. He then allegedly dragged her to the cellar, where he attempted to rape her. She regained consciousness and began struggling and shouting for help, at which time her attacker fled.
She was rushed to hospital in Bloemfontein.
"I was supposed to go and hunt on the same farm on Tuesday, but my priority was to catch the perpetrator. When I learnt about the attack, I started doing my own investigation from home," he said.
Having grown up in a large family, Lombaard and his sister are close - and the private investigator felt compelled to offer his assistance to local police.
Lombaard met up with the police in Trompsburg, who believed the attacker had fled to Bloemfontein.
However, the police soon realised they were on the wrong track and then followed the case thousands of kilometres across the Free State and Northern Cape.
Earle added: "The activation plan was executed to search for the suspect, through a collective effort by a team of investigators from Trompsburg, Springfontein, Gariepdam and Colesberg police."
While in Colesberg, informers notified the police that a man matching the alleged perpetrator's description had been seen at a suspected drug den.
"We quickly got back-up and another unmarked police vehicle as well as police members dressed in civvies. It was dark already and the plan was for five undercover policemen to walk up on a footpath behind the drug joint and, once they were in place, we drive up towards the house," said Lombaard, adding:
Earle said the farmworker was apprehended on Thursday.
Macebo Patrick Phunga, 39, appeared in the Trompsburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
Phunga is expected to return to court on Thursday on charges of attempted murder.
Lombaard added that the real heroes in the case were the police officers, some of whom gave up their off-duty hours to help with the investigation.
"The policemen were the true heroes. I was just here to help. I didn't make the breakthrough. We worked a lot of their information because they know the areas and they knew who to ask. Without them, I would have still been driving around," he said.
Lombaard said he had not worked with such a dedicated team of officers since he left the police service in 1998.
"The smiles, hugs and high fives, once we got to the police station, were incredible. I want to thank every policeman and woman who assisted us to get this criminal behind bars."