Fritz Joubert, 45, repeatedly beat Hoyana, 40, to death with the butt of his gun on his Geluksdal farm near Gonubie.
Johannesburg – The racially-fuelled murder of Anele Hoyana by an East London farmer has sparked national outrage after video footage of some of the shocking abuse went viral on social media.
Fritz Joubert, 45, repeatedly beat Hoyana, 40, to death with the butt of his gun on his Geluksdal farm near Gonubie.
Police reacting to the incident later shot Joubert dead when he allegedly resisted being taken into custody.
Themba Rumbu, who claimed to be a cousin of Hoyana, caused a Twitter storm when he shared videos of the farmer spewing racist rants while abusing Hoyana.
Anele Hoyana and his family. Pcture: Supplied
However, Olwethu Hoyana, the brother of Anele, said he had no clue who Rumbu was and had no idea why he would refer to himself as Anele’s cousin.
“I do not know who Themba Rumbu is; my other brother also asked me who this person was. This is clearly an imposter, because when this was brought to my attention he was conducting interviews. That’s when I decided to go on social media and distance ourselves from him,” said Olwethu.
He said that Rumbu had no authority to speak on behalf of the family.
“We are all in East London. We had our first family meeting and obviously we haven’t been privy to what has been happening in the media. It has only just been brought to our attention around midday today (yesterday).”
Olwethu said the family was distraught and in a state of shock and they have been meeting to discuss Hoyana’s burial, which is set for Saturday.
Olwethu described his brother as a hard-working father of two.
“Anele was an ordinary person who was trying to get his business going. He was also in the space of traditional healing. He had his own shortcomings like anyone else, but he was a very passionate man and close to his wife and children,” said Olwethu.
After originally conducting interviews on the death of Anele, Rumbu told The Star that he does not want to be involved with the story but maintained that he was a close relative.
The video shared by Rumbu on Twitter shows Joubert bludgeoning Honyana’s head with the end of his rifle on the deck of the house, before shouting “Viva, Viva!”
In another video, while Hoyana was still alive, Joubert, who was wielding a knobkierie called both Hoyana and his 2-year-old son Satan, instructing him to get on his knees.
“You sit on your knees for the white man, for the white farmer,” said a frantic Joubert.
The farmer further ranted about being the saviour of South African and African children as well as farmers and soldiers.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana confirmed the shooting incident in a statement.
“According to reports, the incident occurred after an alleged argument between the farm owner and the 40-year-old man (Hoyana).
“The altercation left the 40-year-old man fatally wounded,” read the statement.
Fritz Joubert: Picure: Supplied
Kinana said when the police arrived and tried to rescue Hoyana’s children, who were being held hostage, Joubert resisted the officers, which ended in him getting fatally shot.
“Cases of murder, attempted murder and kidnapping will be investigated while Ipid (Independent Police Investigative Directorate) is investigating the death of Joubert,” she said.
East London station commander Brigadier Mxolisi Mqotyana commended the officers for their bravery in saving the children and ensuring their safety by acting swiftly.
AfriForum head of policy and action Ernst Roets reacted to the incident by saying it was disturbing.
“AfriForum condemns the events in the strongest possible terms and supports Ipid’s investigation into the matter,” he said.
The Star
