A 52-year-old Polokwane business owner is lying critically injured in Limpopo Medi Clinic's high-care unit after being hijacked, beaten to within an inch of his life, and left for dead last night (Tuesday).
Owner of Limpopo Tractors, Mr Thys Diedericks' nightmare began at around 19:15 last night. He was returning from seeing a client and stopped off at Savannah Shopping Mall in Polokwane. On leaving the centre's parking lot in his silver Isuzu twin cab, registration number BPY056L, he was accosted by four armed men. One of the men was armed with a firearm while the other three were armed with sharp objects that looked like pangas, Diedericks' friend and colleague, Mr Stefan Myburgh, said today (Wednesday).
According to Myburgh, Diedericks was thrown into the back of his vehicle by his assailants who then proceeded to drive in the direction of Mankweng stopping along the road and dragging Diedericks into the bush. There they beat him until he was unconscious. Some of the injuries Diedericks sustained include a cracked skull and multiple fractures and cuts all over his body. His eyes are swollen shut and half of his ear has been torn off. All the while they were beating him, they were asking him where the money was, Myburgh said. “His injuries are horrendous... it seems like they set out to kill him.”
The suspects left Diedericks for dead and fled the scene with his vehicle, three cell phones, his bank cards and some cash.
Friends, colleagues and family searched for Diedericks throughout the night, unknowingly searching in completely the wrong direction. They only became aware of where he might be when one of the suspects drew R3 000 from Diedericks' bank account via an ATM machine in Mankweng in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Myburgh said.
Early Wednesday morning, Diedericks became conscious thanks to heavy rain that was falling. He dragged himself, crawling, to the road where a passing minibus taxi stopped to pick him up. The driver of the taxi took him to Mankweng Provincial Hospital, which is where his family found him. He was tranferred late Wednesday to Limpopo Medi Clinic.
Myburgh expressed his and the Diedericks family's gratitude to the unknown taxi driver. “The people at Mankweng Hospital were also wonderful.”
According to Polokwane Police spokesperson inspector Lesiba Ramoshaba, no criminal cases have as yet been reported to the police. But Myburgh said Diedericks was reported missing and a case opened in the early hours of Wednesday morning and subsequently cases relating to Diedericks' ordeal have been opened (hijacking, assault, robbery). No arrests have been made and the vehicle is still missing.