A MIDLANDS commercial farmer was ambushed and killed — in what is believed to be hit related to a land claims dispute — at his farm in Rietvlei on Wednesday night.

Bloemendal Estate farm owner Alan Rowe (58) was attacked by two assailants who had been hiding at a garage in his farm waiting for his return.

When Rowe got back from a friend’s house at 8.45 pm, two men fired shots at his Mazda Drifter bakkie. He tried to retreat and reversed his bakkie, but the men continued to fire at him.

Several shots hit the windscreen and bounced off; another hit the tree near a garage. It is believed that there were two hit men, one who was shooting from the left and the other hiding in the garage and taking cover behind a parked bakkie. A 9mm handgun and a .22 rifle were used.

Rowe jumped out of the vehicle and went through the fence into the cattle grazing camp and ran down towards the road. A pole in the fence was broken and his cellphone was found near the fence.

A friend and neighbour, Gavin Hill, who was first to arrive on the scene said he also found his friend’s jacket abandoned on the grass. “I believe he took off the jacket because it’s a bright yellow colour and he thought his attackers would not see him in darker clothing.”

But his assailants caught up with him and gunned him down.

Rowe was shot twice in the chest, and one of the bullets went through his arm.

Hill believes Rowe’s murder was a “planned hit”, but there is no clarity on the real motive. “This was not a robbery gone wrong, it was not a hijacking gone wrong. They chased him, and hunted him down with the intent to kill a farmer.”

Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Henry Budhram said the killing is linked to land claims disputes, but did not give details .

Hill said that as far as he knows, there is no land claim dispute about the farm.

The slain farmer’s brother, Michael, also denied knowing of any land claims issues, but said there were plans to sell the farm to a black buyer. “There was something in the pipeline but I don’t know the ins and outs ...”

The Bloemendal Estate farm is a combined dairy and meat farm, with about 50 beef cattle and 375 milk cows.

The death has hit the family at a time when they were celebrating unity. “My sister was visiting from Australia and we had a family get-together. Unfortunately it has turned tragic,” said Michael. “I was in Ballito with my sister when we received the news. We came back and broke the news to my brother’s wife, Jenny, who was at their house in Howick ... it was like putting a stake in her heart, and she had to be taken to hospital due to the trauma.”

Alone at the farm, Rowe visited Hill and his partner, Donna Lay, on Wednesday at about 6.30 pm.

“Everything was going right with him. He spoke about all his family members and their pro­gress in life,” said Lay. He left Hill’s place at 8.30 and at 8.45 a foreman at their farm received a call about the shooting.

Bloemendal foreman Bhekumuzi Magubane said he did not hear his boss’s bakkie when he came back. “I heard gunshots and I immediately switched off the lights. I peeped through the window and saw the bakkie reversing and I saw him getting out, but I did not see what happened next. I immediately phoned the police, but there was no response, so I called a policeman I know. I then called Hill’s foreman.”

Hill and Lay rushed to the farm but when they arrived it was too late. “We grabbed the guns and came here, we found the bakkie with its lights on, but he was nowhere to be found. We called him and heard his cellphone ringing from the grazing camp.” Searching further down, they found his body.

A Nike cap and a sport bag were found on the scene and the police are positive the perpetrators will be found. Anyone with information is urged to contact Constable Bonginkosi Dlamini of the Rietvlei detective services at 033 417 0712 or 073 324 1974.

Any person wishing to give information anonymously can contact Crime Stop on the toll-free number, 08600 10111.