'Terror' farmer's dog poisoned

2003-08-01 10:00

Craig Bishop

Newcastle - Newcastle police are investigating the poisoning of a dog belonging to Utrecht farmer Theodore Landman, who faces charges of attempted murder and assault.

It is believed that the dog was poisoned by local people who claim that Landman and his two sons, Johan and Jacobus, have operated a reign of terror in the region for years.

Landman, the owner of Zyhoek farm, and his son Jacobus Thomas Landman (26) have been charged with the attempted murder of farmworker Isaac Fanyana Nkosi on January 14, 2001.

Landman and his other son Johan (28) are also charged with two counts of assault on two other farm workers, Siphiwe Nkosi and Samuel Ndlovu, on December 24, 2001.

SAPS spokesperson Superintendent Buhle Ngidi told the Witness on Thursday that the dog has been transferred from a Utrecht mortuary to an SAPS vet in Pretoria for a post-mortem.

Ngidi dismissed allegations that white policemen deliberately put the dead dog in a mortuary used mainly by black people.

"In any case, the dog was kept in a separate room and was covered with plastic to avoid contamination," he said.

He added that the Newcastle Public Order Policing Unit has been deployed to Utrecht to contain tensions between the Landman family and local people.

- The Witness