[Willem Fick]

Was so looking forward to the weekend, but what a mess it turned into!

As you may know, we have a massive problem with violent crime in South Africa, and we hold the unenviable record of being the country with the most armed car-jackings on earth. My brother really has had some bad luck in this regard, and has had two very close calls - once in 2002, when he was accosted in our driveway at home, and then again in 2003 when shots were fired at his car with an AK47. He came away from the first incident completely uharmed, and from the second with only some bullet holes to his car as well as a shot-up tire and suspension arm.

Friday night he was subject to his third attempt, and really had a very close call this time. He stopped at a garage on the motorway to get some petrol, and as he was leaving decided that he wanted to get something from the shop, so parked his car in the rest area, and walked back.

On his return to the car, he was accosted by three black guys, with guns, who forced him onto the ground, holding a gun to his head, and threatening to kill him. He complied, at which point they took away his keys, phone and wallet, and one of the robbers told one of the others to kill him.

This is then fortunately where his luck changed, as a person who just happened to be armed drove by, saw what was happening and stopped. He proceeded to shoot dead the chap that was holding the gun to Johann's head, which caused the other two to try and run for it. In the process a large number of shots were fired, and a second of the robbers fatally wounded. The third one got away. I wanted to attached some pictures that were taken shortly after the police arrived at the scene, but they are unfortunately rather gory.

Fortunately no harm came to anyone else in the process, but as you can imagine my brother, and our whole family for that matter is in a hell of a state. All in all I guess we have a lot to be thankful for, but I am getting rather fed-up with having to be thankful for surviving crime so often.

If nothing else, this has most definitely stiffened my resolve to get my backside out of Africa...