An Eastern Cape farmer has been found bludgeoned to death on his Alice farm. Police spokesman Lieutenant Khaya Tonjeni said Ndiphiwe Maxham‚ 69‚ was discovered dead near his car on his Seymore farm on Wednesday afternoon by a relative.“His daughter became alarmed when the deceased did not answer his phone. She then requested another relative to go to the farm and investigate. The relative found the body of the deceased near the farm house and alerted the police‚” Tonjeni said.He said it seemed the deceased was assaulted to death as he did not have gunshot or stab wounds on him.Said Tonjeni: “The initial investigation did not reveal that anything was stolen from the deceased. However‚ there was a report an attempt was made to burn his vehicle. A case of murder and malicious damage to property have been opened. No arrests have been made as yet. Police are following up on leads”.The deceased’s son‚ Nchumani Maxham‚ said he was last seen on Tuesday morning leaving his Alice home saying he was going to visit the farm. He never came back.“There are about 80 cattle and 60 goats in the farm‚ so he went there to check if everything was still fine. It was then that he was attacked‚” said Maxham.He said his father had sustained injuries on the head‚ hands and chest.He said the family and the Alice community were still in shock as they were in the dark over motives to kill his father.“He was well known in this area having spent much of his life as a school teacher. Police have reassured us that they will get to the bottom of this matter‚” Maxham said.The farmer is survived by his four children. - RDM News Wire..