Andrew Reynolds, a prominent Port Alfred businessman, was found dead at a friend’s farm near Grahamstown on Monday morning.
Andrew Reynolds, a prominent Port Alfred businessman, was found dead at a friend’s farm near Grahamstown on Monday morning.
Reynolds was found by a farm employee with a gunshot wound in his head, but no weapon was found at the scene.
Captain Mali Govender, the SAPS communications officer of the Port Alfred branch said they have opened a case of murder and no arrests have been made yet. The motive of the alleged murder is not known and police are still investigating.
Reynolds owned the company AG Marine, a boat manufacturing company based in Port Alfred which was recently liquidated. Sources say the well-known highflyer was deep in debt and that he had been in a state of depression because of his financial problems.
One of Reynold’s close acquintances said the deceased "loved his company, he was dedicated and the thought of losing it after working hard for so many years stressed him out so much".
At the time of the murder, Reynolds was reportedly living at his friend’s game farm. A source close to Reynolds said the deceased had been living at the farm with his former employee who was now working for Reynold’s friend.
The source claimed that the deceased had been warned to leave town shortly before his death. At the height of his success, Reynolds owned a Hummer, a Land Rover and other luxury four-wheel-drives which were used by his employers.
Sources say his financial problems began when some of his clients started demanding their money back after paying for their boats upfront. It is also believed that Reynolds was also at loggerheads with his employees’ labour union to which he owed a substantial sum of money.
