Smiling Conqueror

South Africa: Farm torture: “The worst was when they started cutting my wife” Les Brett (67) says the worst part was not what happened to him: “It was when they started cutting my wife’s nipples, just to cause pain. She’s a very, very strong woman. A good woman.” He and his wife, Natasha (68), have lived for 13 years on a farm at Broederstroom, near Hartbeespoort Dam, where he is involved in wildlife conservation. That is why he has guns, including an AK-47 assault rifle. “They put the AK-47’s barrel in my mouth and pulled the trigger, but it didn’t fire,” he says. “It was God’s grace. There’s nothing wrong with my gun. But they didn’t know much about guns, to be honest.” The attackers left with seven of Les’s guns and the couple’s cellphones. Three attackers broke into the house and overpowered the couple. They tied their feet, blindfolded them and tied their arms behind their backs. “But they kept us apart, so most of the time we could only hear what was happening to the other one,” says Natasha. The motive for the attack? “There were only two reasons. They wanted to get into the safe, and they wanted cash,” says Les. He says it was as if they knew he owned firearms. “That’s when they started assaulting my wife in front of me. But once they had the keys, they got it into their heads that we keep cash.” The couple can’t remember exactly how long the torture lasted, but estimate it was between two and three hours. “It’s difficult, because you’re in so much pain that time passes more slowly,” says Natasha. Photo caption: Les and Natasha Brett before the attack. (Supplied) Les and Natasha are already back home, but their injuries are still serious. “They slapped me and cut the clothes off my body. Exactly like in the movies, as if there’s a mafia above them giving them instructions,” she says. She also believes that at times it felt as if they were simply taking out their frustrations in anger. “You could see the adrenaline and the rage in their eyes. They also acted as if they weren’t coordinated among themselves.” In the middle of the attack, one of them told her: “We’re not here to steal cables.” The couple’s bank cards were left untouched. “I even offered to drive to an ATM, but they didn’t want to,” she says. Natasha also says she was nearly raped twice. “But they’re like children in a toy shop. When the safe opened, he forgot about me.” Natasha suspects that if they had not handed over the keys to the safe, the attackers would have killed Les. “It was like a negotiation.” Photo caption: One of Les’s wounds. (Supplied) Her lips are now badly swollen, there are bruises behind her ears, and the attackers almost dislocated her shoulder. “They tied my hands so tightly that the blood circulation was cut off, and then there were the rags they kept pushing into your mouth...” This later tore her frenulum (the tissue that attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth). Both of them were tortured with boiling water, but it is not yet clear how serious the burns are. Les’s injuries are worse than his wife’s. “They hit him over the head with bolt cutters. His face was very swollen, the white of his eye was red and full of blood, and he can’t hear out of his left ear. His eardrum is burst,” she says. Natasha remembers that it later went quiet where she was sitting alone. “I think they realised we had nothing. When I thought it was quiet enough, I struggled for 15 minutes to untie my feet,” she says. There was a knife on the table, which they used to cut each other loose. “The strangest thing is that they let our dogs out, and even threw their pellets in for them to eat,” she says. They have boerboel and Rhodesian ridgeback crosses, as well as a terrier, “and they didn’t even bark.” Les thanked all the services that helped them after the attack. “We can’t complain at all,” he says. Leilani Basson of Bush Babes Conservation Adventures has worked with Les for 14 years. “That something like this should happen to a man like him is tragic. That it should happen to someone so devoted to conservation.” She describes him as “a man who is always ready, a real army man who stays out in the veld with the wild animals because he loves them.” “He can tell you about anything, from history to facts about the soil and the grass. He’s a walking encyclopaedia of the veld!” Les also runs the Dung Beetle Bush School, which aims to teach children and women more about the Bushveld. It is also part of an anti-poaching unit that Les runs together with several other organisations. The police are investigating a case of house robbery. No one has been arrested yet, says police spokesperson Sergeant Kelebogile Morake. Lieutenant General Arthur Peter Adams, the provincial police commissioner in North West, condemned the attack. “It is concerning that criminals continue to target vulnerable members of our communities in the safety of their own homes. We condemn such acts of violence and intimidation in the strongest terms.” Adams said the police would “intensify efforts” to make sure the attackers are arrested. Anyone with information that can help the police investigation can contact the investigating officer, Warrant Officer Gregory Kwadi, on 082 373 9636. Source: Desiré Nortjé, Netwerk24