White farmer has his ears hacked off during horrific torture in South African farm robbery: 'The motive clearly isn't just to steal'

A South African man was tortured and had his ears hacked off during a robbery at his farm. Cattle farmer Donovan Marx, 50, was alone inside his home after his wife Louise had left for work on Wednesday when two men attacked one of his workers in a barn. The worker was tied up, and the robbers then burst into the main farmhouse and shot Mr Marx, then stabbed him in the leg.As he collapsed in a pool of blood, the two men taunted him, then held him down, and cut off his ears before slicing them into small bits.His neighbour said in a social media post that the farmer's employee managed to untie himself and get help, and only a rescuer's arrival thwarted their threat to castrate him.The robbers did not have time to steal valuables from the farm near Potchefstroom and fled in Mr Marx's station wagon.He was rushed to the Mediclinic Potchefstroom hospital, where doctors treated his injuries. Mr Marx is said to be fighting for his life, and the hospital says he is 'critical but stable'. Cattle farmer Donovan Marx (left) was tortured and had his ears hacked off during a robbery at his farm in South Africa on Wednesday The attackers fled the scene in Mr Marx's station wagon (pictured) The victim's brother-in-law Pieter Steyn said: 'Donovan was shot in the shoulder and stabbed in the leg, and we don't know why they tortured him.''He has not been able to speak to us, and what happened just goes to show once again how brutal farm attacks are in South Africa, and these brutal attacks are out of control.'The motive clearly isn't just to steal something - it goes further than that.'The attackers tied up the farm worker, then tortured Donovan, but the worker got free and called for help, which came quickly, and as far as we know the worker is unhurt', he said.Police arrived at the scene shortly after the attack along with paramedics.Democratic Alliance MP and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police that oversees the performance of the South African Police Force, Ian Cameron, condemned the attack.He said: 'Not every farm attack involves torture, but the deliberate cruelty inflicted in some attacks must be confronted honestly, and both these victims deserve proper support.'I have personally attended scenes after farm attacks where the victims suffered severe torture, such as having boiling water poured over them or poured down their throats.'People burned with clothing irons or having holes drilled through their hands and feet. Some farm attacks involve prolonged captivity and torture that last for many hours.'The time perpetrators spend with their victims, the severity of the violence and the isolation of the farm properties, all matter when designing an emergency response.'It is unfair to use comparisons with other violent crimes to trivialise farm attacks and no political leader should welcome or excuse violence against farmers or workers.'North West Police must ensure experienced detectives investigate this attack and build a case that will withstand scrutiny in court and support the victims', he said.North West Police spokesperson Captain Majang Skalkie said her officers were still gathering information regarding the horrific attack and would comment further shortly.No arrests have been made so far, police said. Dr Corne Mulder, leader of the right-wing Freedom Front Plus, said: 'The attack on Mr Marx was exceptionally brutal and our prayers go out to him and to his loved ones.'We repeatedly point out that farm attacks, as in this case, are frequently accompanied by extreme violence and torture and therefore cannot be dismissed as ordinary crime.'Consequently, our party is again calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to acknowledge the reality of farm murders and attacks and commit to action that prioritizes them.'As long as this country's president denies the existence of farm murders and refuses to put a stop to incitement of attacks against farmers, then these attacks will continue'.Dr Mulder said full details of what happened to Mr Marx were too shocking to be made public.It is the second farm attack in North West Province this week, after a farmer's wife was battered to death with an iron bar as she opened the security gate of their farm at Ottosdal.Her husband found her in a blood-soaked heap, and she died on her way to hospital.South African farmers say they believe the government turns a blind eye to crimes against them, which they believe are targeted and deliberately barbaric, yet classify as 'ordinary crime'.There are between 40 and 72 horrific farm murders a year, which the Government says is 'not significant' when compared to the 75 murders carried out every single day in South Africa.But demonstrators claim the barbarity, torture and prolonged suffering that is inflicted on victims of farm attacks means that the crime should be listed as a specific crime.US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed a 'white genocide' is taking place in South Africa, alleging white farmers are being targeted and killed and land confiscated.The US modified its refugee and asylum process to heavily prioritize white South Africans to be able to 'escape persecution' to the US. South African government officials emphasize high rates of violent crime and farm attacks affect citizens of all races and colour, and there is no targeted white racial genocide.President Ramaphosa contests strongly that white farmers are singled out for violent attacks.A social media poster said: 'Donovan is a neighbour and friend of ours and was shot from behind and the round came out his stomach and they cut both his ears off.'They were picked up at the scene and sent to hospital, but the problem seems to be that they cut them off into small pieces, so they don't know if the ears can be repaired yet.'They also tried to cut off his genitals, but luckily a worker showed up, and these two pig offspring then made their getaway taking Donovan's farm pick-up to escape', he said.In 2021, seven armed attackers ambushed terrified cattle farmer Neil Bierman, 47, and wife Sonja, 43, and their three young sons at their remote farm in Mpumalanga Province.After forcing them at gunpoint to open a safe and finding no valuables, they forced their six-year-old son into the oven and threatened to roast him alive.Last year, cattle farmer Role Uys, 70, survived a horrific attack at her farm in Carolina in Mpumalanga Province when a gang held her down as they boiled a kettle of water.She was tortured for over an hour as they kept laughing and reboiling the kettle to pour over her.They poured it over her head, then beat her with the kettle, then covered her face in tape, chained her up, and then piled a mound of furniture on her and left her to die.Incredibly, Role was discovered alive by callers to the house and survived the torture ordeal despite being critically injured with horrific burns to her head and her face.