South African rugby star Lukas van Biljon ‘devastated’ after father dies from gunshot wounds

Former South African rugby star Lukas van Biljon was said to be ‘broken and devastated’ after his father died from gunshot wounds in a horrific farm attack in South Africa.

Tragic Andre van Biljon, 70, was blasted three times in the chest at midnight on Saturday and his son ex-Springbok hooker Lukas, 47, was stabbed repeatedly with a knife.

Six armed men had stormed the family farm in darkness at Oranjeville in Free State Province and tied up Lukas’s children with cable ties then sneaked into Lukas’s bedroom.

The 6ft 2 former hooker was woken with a 9mm pistol to his head and in a brief struggle was stabbed a number of times until he was told by the gang they had his sons.

They warned him his three boys would be shot dead if he tried to resist.

Former South African rugby star Lukas van Biljon, 47, (pictured in Wellington, New Zealand in 2006) was stabbed repeatedly with a knife. He was warned his three boys would be shot dead if he tried to resist as the gang ransacked the farm at Oranjeville, Free State Province

Meanwhile his brave dad Andre had made a run to reach a radio to alert his fellow farmers that they were under attack but was spotted and shot three times.

The bullets hit him in the chest and he was rushed in critical condition to the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein but lost his fight for life at 1.30pm Tuesday.

A close farmer friend said: ‘Lukas is broken and devastated and along with the van Biljon family had been with Andre at his bedside since he was operated on.

‘But they were serious injuries and his body family gave out on him. They shot him from close range in cold blood. He was an old man and could not fight back.

‘Lukas said he has been greatly comforted by the world of rugby coming together to support him and his family along with the local farming community,’ he said.

Farmer Andre died on Tuesday the day Minister of Police Bheki Cele revealed the latest SA crime figures of 6000 people murdered in the first three months of 2023.

Retired hooker and former Sharks player Lukas played 13 times for his country between 2001 and 2003 but was dropped after a string of high-profile nightclub brawls.

His first game was vs Italy and his last game was vs New Zealand.

Retired hooker and former Sharks player Lukas (pictured at the farm) played 13 times for his country between 2001 and 2003 but was dropped after a string of high-profile nightclub brawls

Pictured: Ex-Springbok hooker Lukas van Biljon on the farm. Six armed men had stormed the family farm in darkness at Oranjeville in Free State Province and tied up Lukas’s children with cable ties then sneaked into Lukas’s bedroom

Lukas van Biljon (pictured) was woken with a 9mm pistol to his head and in a brief struggle was stabbed a number of times until he was told by the gang they had his sons

South African Police spokesman Captain Loraine Earle said two of the attackers were arrested after local farmers had been alerted and set up road blocks and caught them.

She said: ‘Just after midnight on Saturday the police were called to a farm at Oranjeville belonging to the Van Biljon family where two men had suffered injuries.

‘It is alleged that six armed men entered the house and tied up the children with cable ties and a 47-year-old man was stabbed and his 70-year-old father was shot.

‘Two men were arrested and charged with house robbery and attempted murder but that charge has now been upgraded to murder following the death of Mr van Biljon.

‘We are still looking for the other four men involved in this attack,’ she said.

A close farmer friend said: ‘Lukas is broken and devastated and along with the van Biljon family had been with Andre at his bedside since he was operated on’

The two arrested men Khanye Muthi, 32, and Latin Mofokeng, 42, appeared before Heilbron Magistrate’s Court on Monday in handcuffs and applied for bail and were remanded in custody until June 5.

Farmers in South Africa are under daily threat with 333 brutal attacks throughout the country last year which resulted in 55 horrific murders of men, women and children.

The attacks are usually highlighted by the cruelty inflicted with women often raped and both men and women first tortured with hot irons, power tools and boiling water.

Most victims are then mercilessly shot dead with stabbing and strangulation the second and third causes of death.

In South Africa there are 80 murders a day and over 120 rapes and the crime figures make it one of the most dangerous countries in the world to live with conviction rates extremely low.