Johannes Potgieter (left) and Hendrick Dumas (right) appear in court
Two farmers are back in court for the assault of nine-year-old girl
The nine-year-old girl who was assaulted by the two farmers is too traumatized to give the court a statement, one year after the incident.
Johannes Potgieter (left) and Hendrick Dumas (right) appear in court
Johannes Potgieter and Hendrik Dumas are back in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, on Monday, for charges of attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, kidnapping and the unlawful pointing of a firearm.
The horror continues for the nine-year-old victim
In June, at a previous court appearance, the court learned that the girl could not give a formal statement, for now, due to the trauma.
The father of the victim, who has to remain unnamed to protect the identity of the minor, shared:
“She is scared that they will come for her again because they are free.”
He added that the little girl asks, every day when the trial will be over.
Why did the two farmers attack the nine-year-old girl?
On 9 September 2017, near Bronkhorstspruit, four children, including the victim, were allegedly playing with their dogs. The animals spotted some guinea fowl and ran onto a nearby farm in pursuit.
After following their dogs onto the farm, the minors were, allegedly, confronted by 33-year-old Potgieter and 48-year-old Dumas. The other children took off, but the little girl wasn’t fast enough.
The two farmers, allegedly, proceeded to tie the 9-year-old girl to a tree and shot at her. The incident, that made headlines across the country, has caused outrage.
Why the case was transferred from Bronkhorstspruit to Pretoria
After being refused bail, the accused lodged an appeal in the North Gauteng High Court and were successful on 19 October.
On 14 November, chaos erupted outside Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate’s Court after the crowd learned that the farmers had been granted bail.
After the crowd, who gathered in protest, started throwing stones, police had to fire rubber bullets in order to disperse them.
Magistrate David Shikwambana informed the parents of the victim that a transfer request had been lodged due to security reasons. The case was then moved to Pretoria.
At their last court appearance, the accused voiced objection to another postponement and requested the case to be struck off.
No further postponements are expected.
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