SA artists attacked, robbed in Namibia

The ‘Earthy Acoustics’ sessions is a collaborative non-profit project done by musicians all over the world. Keziah Jones, Albert Frost and Elemotho are some of the musicians who have taken part in the project.

Endemic Productions producer and director Liberty Verbaan, who was present during the incident, said five assailants wearing masks and armed with knives and stones manhandled the production crew and talent and took equipment and jewellery worth N$500 000 ($36 000).

Speaking to Music In Africa from her Namibian base, Verbaan said Smit was brutally attacked while trying to fight back.

“We filmed several songs and as we were finishing and packing our gear, we were attacked by five men armed with stones and knives,” Verbaan said.

“Riaan Smit was gravely injured, suffering a stab wound and a badly fractured jaw and skull. My husband Laurent Hesemans was kicked in the face when he attempted to check on Riaan. I was punched in the head but sustained no damage.

“They held us down for nearly 45 minutes while they removed our gear from the car and searched us for valuables. They took everything we had – all our gear, our jewellery and phones. They even took Riaan's pants. We did not manage to escape, they held us until they were satisfied with what they had taken. They then threw our car keys into the rubbish and escaped into the mountains.”

But Verbaan said the attack would not deter them from completing the project. “We are completing the edit of this video as we speak. We will definitely continue to do Earthy Acoustics, as we will not allow a terrible experience to prevent us from pushing Namibian and South African music to the next level. However, we will most certainly be taking an armed guard in the future.”

Smit was initially taken to the Windhoek Medclinic after the incident and was later flown to Cape Town and admitted at Mediclinic Stellenbosch. 

“My surgery was a success and it's all thanks to the amazing people I have in my life," Smit wrote on Facebook. "Big shout out to the doctors and the nurses who patched me up immediately after the attack and were so cool and calm while casually saving my life. The footage from the shoot is still on the cameras.”

Smit, who is the frontman of  Crimson House, said he had lost a considerable amount of money following the attack. “I lost R80 000 [$5 800] worth of income from the shows I have missed and spent about R20 000 on medical expenses.”

Verbaan said they were doing everything in their power to aid Smit. “We will be launching a fundraising initiative for Riaan as soon as we can," she said.

Meanwhile, local media reported this week that Namibian police had arrested two suspects in connection with the robbery.

Verbaan confirmed the arrests. “Yes, the special reserves and special crimes unit successfully retrieved most of the stolen gear, amounting to approximately N$400 000. They recovered the gear on Monday and made two arrests. We are very grateful to them for their hard work and effort. The remaining items are smaller – my engagement ring, a lens, lapel microphone and others,” she said.