Run before I shoot you too, recalls grieving widow

Landlord in court after tenant asking about water, lights was shot dead

A grieving widow says she watched as their landlord of six weeks shot and killed her husband when they went to his house to enquire why he had cut off their water and electricity.

Marlize Knoetze of the North West said she and her husband Frederick were at Paul Badenhorst's gate begging him to open so they could speak “like adults” when he suddenly approached with a gun, walked towards them, yelled “I will shoot you” then pulled the trigger. The bullet hit her husband in the head and the 66-year-old man collapsed.

“He then said ‘run before I shoot you too’ and I fled,” the 49-year-old woman said.

“I then came back with a car and my son and I put Frederick inside and rushed him to hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.”

Knoetze, her husband Frederick and their two children moved to their new place only last month.

She said the house, situated on a plot close to Hartbeespoort Dam, was affordable and close to their daughter’s school hence they decided to rent it.

As the husband was the one dealing with the landlord, Knoetze said she did not know what the agreement was when it came to rent and paying for services.

However, a few days after moving in the landlord cut off their water, she said.

Knoetze said when they went to enquire why he said: “I cannot provide you with a place to stay as well as water and electricity.”

She said the landlord then called his lawyers and they drafted an agreement “on a piece of paper that they took with”.

It’s an old house and we had agreed that we would pay R1,000 for rent and R1,000 for water and electricity.Marlize Knoetze

"It’s an old house and we had agreed that we would pay R1,000 for rent and R1,000 for water and electricity. We also agreed that we would renovate the house as it is old.”

Two weeks ago, she said, Badenhorst cut off their water and electricity despite the fact that they had kept their end of the bargain and paid what was due to him.

She said he came up with stories when they asked why.

“He blamed Eskom, saying they were the ones who had switched off the electricity. He also said he could not keep on providing water and electricity because Cyril Ramaphosa should be the one providing them with services as he [Badenhorst] no longer owns the plot," she said.

According to Knoetze, they did not know what Badenhorst meant by that as they did not ask but they had to “listen to him as he spoke for hours” before switching their lights and water back on.

This past Sunday, however, the electricity and water issue took a turn for the worst when Badenhorst allegedly shot and killed Frederick.

Knoetze said on that Sunday, Frederick  woke up and tried to prepare a cup of coffee when he realised that they were without electricity. Their son also told them that there was no water.

The couple then decided to go to Badenhorst to enquire about the services that had been cut off.

“We went to him [Badenhorst]. We kept knocking at the gate and I kept asking that he should come out so that we can speak like adults. We knew it was him because this was not the first time [he switched off their water and electricity].

Knoetze said she was shocked by how Badenhorst behaved which has left her under immense stress.

“He came out with a rifle and said ‘I will shoot you’ and he shot him [Frederick].

“After he shot him, he looked at me and said ‘run before I shoot you’ and that’s when I ran.”

Knoetze said when she got to the house she did not even tell the children that their father had been shot. She just told the son they had to rush somewhere and they went to where the dying man was on the ground and rushed him to hospital but he didn’t make it.

Meanwhile the landlord fled after the shooting but was arrested the same day some kilometres away in Skeerport.

North West police spokesperson Lt-Col Amanda Funani said they also recovered a gun that will be sent for ballistic testing.

“According to the reports, the 66-year-old tenant approached his landlord when he discovered that there was no electricity and water at his place. Following an argument that ensued between the two, Badenhorst went inside his house and came back with a firearm and allegedly shot the victim on his upper body,” she said.

According to Knoetze, Frederick had been discussing his son’s 18th birthday which is on September 23 and had even planned to buy him a birthday cake.

“I am not OK. We can’t even celebrate my son’s birthday which is today [Tuesday]. My husband was planning to buy him a birthday cake.

“Why couldn’t he [Badenhorst] just shoot him in the arm or leg or fire a warning shot or something?”

Badenhorst appeared in the Brits magistrates’ court yesterday for a charge of murder. The case was postponed to Friday for a formal bail application.

moloih@sowetan.co.za

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