Outrage is spreading across South Africa’s West Coast after a white farmer allegedly ran over a six-year-old boy for taking an orange from the ground. Christoffel Johannes Stoman, 70, was arrested after reportedly ramming his vehicle—towing a trailer—into Kwezi Beukes and his mother, Magdalene Jantijies, as they walked by Stoman’s smallholder farm in Lutzville on September 20. The child’s legs were broken in the incident, and the community is now demanding answers and accountability.

According to Jantijies, the tragedy occurred as she and her son were on their way to buy groceries. Beukes picked up an orange that had fallen from a tree and reached for another through the fence when Stoman suddenly appeared. “He came from around the corner, and he was driving at a speed. He shouted, ‘Stand there,’ and I thought he was going to stop. He aimed directly at us,” Jantijies told the local news outlet eNCA. “He said, ‘I’m going to kill you by driving into you,’” she recalled, describing how the vehicle slammed into her and her son, pinning them against the fence.

The boy was rushed to a local hospital with severe injuries, including two broken legs, and later transferred to a larger hospital in Paarl for emergency surgery. Despite the gravity of the incident, Stoman reportedly showed no remorse. Local reports claim that he told police he “would do it again” if given the chance. Authorities charged him with two counts of attempted murder and reckless and negligent driving, but his request for bail has sparked further public outcry.

Stoman’s actions have drawn attention to what many see as a broader pattern of unchecked aggression and impunity in South Africa’s farming communities. The National African Youth League issued a statement condemning the incident as part of Stoman’s “long history of repeated brutality against vulnerable community members.” The organization accused local law enforcement of shielding him from accountability for years, pointing to the toxic mix of power and corruption that often protects white farmers from facing justice.

The state has opposed Stoman’s bail, with Eric Ntabazalila, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, insisting that the boy could not have gained access to the orchard. “The suspect should answer in a court of law for this reckless behavior,” Ntabazalila told eNCA. Stoman’s bail hearing is set for October 4, and community members are anxiously awaiting the court’s decision as frustration mounts over the slow wheels of justice.

Stoman’s wife and brother-in-law testified in his defense, claiming he had no intention of harming the child. His wife argued that Jantijies declined their help after the incident and left the boy behind before returning with the police. She also denied that her husband had threatened to kill them. However, these claims have done little to quell the public’s anger, with many accusing Stoman of callous disregard for the boy’s life.

The incident has ignited fury on social media, where calls for justice have echoed loudly. “How do you do this to a six-year-old kid?” one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Another demanded to see Stoman’s face in the media, criticizing early reports that focused on the oranges rather than the accused. “We don’t want to see pictures of oranges. Oranges didn’t run over a small, hungry boy, breaking both his legs. Christoffel Stoman did.”

This case follows another high-profile incident in August, when two women were allegedly shot by farmers and fed to pigs after trying to collect discarded food from a Limpopo farm. The news sparked protests and further highlighted the violent tensions surrounding South Africa’s farms. As the trial approaches for that case, the public is watching closely to see whether justice will be served in the tragic case of six-year-old Kwezi Beukes.