The Greatest African Hero

[Rev.Cambeul]

Teen hero leads friends from harm

He suddenly became aware that there were intruders in his home and called all the children together and urged them to keep quiet.

Stefan de Villiers | Low Velder | June 7, 2016

http://lowvelder.co.za/337658/brondal-attack

BRONDAL – "You said I would not learn anything from playing Call of Duty: Black Ops," 14-year-old CJ Bekker joked with his parents after his heroics when they fell prey to a farm attack on Saturday night.

He managed to lead a group of teenagers and younger children to safety, and hid them so well that the parents momentarily thought they had been kidnapped.

Realising that the outcome might have been very different, his father, Mr Jaco Bekker fought back the tears while he spoke of the families' ordeal. "My life stopped for 90 minutes," he said. He was on a hunting trip in Douglas at the time. His wife, Liezl and Ms Caroline van Staden bore the brunt of the attack. Caroline's husband, Jon-Jon, was on a fishing trip in Mozambique. She and their children were staying at the Bekkers for the night.

Liezl was too traumatised to speak to Lowvelder and Jaco relayed how three armed men somehow entered the electric-fenced premises around 21:30 on Saturday. The suspects, of whom only one wore a balaclava, overpowered the women and demanded cash and weapons.

Both females were hit with an unknown sharp object and the grip of a handgun for almost 30 minutes. Unaware of the unfolding nightmare, CJ and the four Van Staden brothers were playing elsewhere in the house.

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"It could have been much worse," he said. Both families underwent trauma counselling yesterday. Jaco said it was going to be a long road to recovery, but added that his wife is strong and that even after the attack, she insisted on staying on the farm. "My son is a true hero and he made me very proud. He knows exactly where I keep my weapons, and he shoots exceptionally well, but decided not to follow that route. He asked me if he did the right thing, after which I told him he couldn't have handled it any better," he said, trying to hold back the tears. [more ...]