Farmer shoots worker, mistakes him for a stray dog, blames victim for being shot

A Chipinge white farmer who allegedly shot and injured his employee after mistaking him for a stray dog is blaming his victim for the incident.

Joubert Francois Johannes (36) of Lushof Farm, pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Chipinge magistrate, Joshua Nembaware. He is being accused of negligently causing serious bodily harm to his employee

The complainant is the one who made a mistake by not being at his usual workplace at the time of the shooting. In his defence before the magistrate on Wednesday, Johannes said:

I was not negligent at all; it’s the complainant who is to blame. Had the complainant not moved away from his usual workplace, he wouldn’t have been shot.

It is the State’s case that both the accused and the complaint was under a shed on October 5, 2018, at around 6 pm when stray dogs entered the kraal.

After collecting a gun from the farmhouse, Johannes shot at the stray dogs, killing one instantly. Meanwhile, Fuyana had gone to the guardroom where a stray bullet hit him in the stomach.

Fuyana was rushed to the hospital, and a police report was made, leading to Johannes’s arrest.newsday