Iconic Afrikaans singer Anton Goosen has become another South African crime statistic.
He was robbed, kidnapped and assaulted during an attack on his smallholding just outside Pretoria .
His ordeal lasted almost two hours leaving the singer-songwriter traumatised, with two cuts in his head.
Spending the whole night awake after the attackers released him just before midnight on Wednesday, Goosen could not speak to the Pretoria News directly on Thursday as he had finally fallen asleep.
His spokesperson, Johan Pienaar, said Goosen had not shut an eye since the four men broke into his home near Hennopspride.
"They hit him twice against the head when he woke, saying they would not kill him if he co-operated. They forced him to open the safe and stole all the money inside.
"They also took his plasma TV, laptop and his Huisgenoot Lifelong Award for his contribution to Afrikaans music, which he is very sad about," Pienaar said.
Goosen was then forced to open the garage where his bakkie was parked. The robbers could not drive the vehicle, so their victim had to drive them off the premises.
Pienaar said about 1km away the culprits stopped, tied Goosen's hands behind his back and dumped him next to the road with the words: "Don't worry, help will come soon."
The man also known as the "Liedjieboer" walked back to his plot at about 1am on Thursday where he managed to wake workers who came to his aid.
"Everyone stayed awake for the rest of the night, even after the police had left.
"I think it was out of fear and shock. The saddest is that Anton loves this plot tremendously but he is now saying 'the dream has been broken'. He is severely traumatised by this," Pienaar said.
He took Goosen to a doctor yesterday, saying the singer was smart enough to realise he needed trauma counselling.
Referring to the singer's perception of crime after this harrowing event, Pienaar quoted Goosen as saying he was not unique and just one of thousands of South Africans who had fallen victim to the crime scourge. Provincial police spokesperson, Captain Julia Claassen said the suspects also took Goosen's pistol and electronic equipment.
- Described by fans as the "undisputed king of the Afrikaans folkie-meets-Africa-explorer vibe" and the king of South African song writing, Goosen became famous with songs like Byeboerwa, Kruidjie-roer-my-nie and Boy van die suburbs.