Farm attack: Another setback for groom-to-be who was shot 9 times

Just days before he was to get married, Johan van Wyk from Hartbeespoort in North West is back in hospital. His condition is being described as critical.

The 41-year-old manager of a chicken farm near Lanseria, west of Johannesburg, was seriously wounded late last year when attackers shot him multiple times. His wedding day had to be postponed for the second time this past week after he developed complications from his injuries.

After the attack in November, Johan was treated for two months in the Helen Joseph Hospital in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. He’d been set to marry his fiancée, Hanli Barnard, 47, on 15 December.

The couple had been excited to finally have their big day on Saturday June 15. But a few days before the happy day Johan suffered a sudden setback and was readmitted to hospital last week.

"He’s not doing well," a worried Hanli told YOU on Monday morning.

He’s back in Helen Joseph Hospital, where his condition has deteriorated. On Friday he had to have an emergency operation after contracting septicaemia. He’s now in a medically induced coma in the intensive care unit. Johan is also on a ventilator to help him breathe.

Hit 9 times

The attack took place in the early evening of November 11 last year. The couple and their children had been about to sit down to dinner when four armed attackers entered the home.

Johan, a widower, has three children and Hanli has two. All the children were at home when the attackers struck.

They fired 25 shots and Johan was hit nine times. The attackers then fled with TV sets, laptops and cellphones.

Though Johan was discharged from hospital at the end of January, he had to return regularly for further treatment.

Last weekend, a week before the couple were due to get married, Johan suddenly developed severe pain in his hip and abdomen. By Tuesday night 11 June he was vomiting constantly, Hanli says.

"I realised I need to get him back to hospital urgently. But I still believed the wedding would go ahead."

The only thing she can do now is hope and pray that Johan will recover.