Since the ANC came to power in 1994, thousands of farmers have been murdered, an average of one murder every two days. In farm murders extreme violence is widespread. If women are present, they are generally raped and torture is now routine.
The question about farm murders is “why?” The government's standard approach is to declare that most farm murders and attacks are simply criminal.
But the following needs to be pointed out:
• Why are the attacks and murders on farms so premeditated, while statistics indicate that the overwhelming majority of murders in South Africa are related to alcohol, drug abuse, and interpersonal and domestic conflict?
• Why are farm attacks so extremely brutal, which is not the case with the majority of murders in South Africa?
• Why are farm attacks and murders mostly black on white, while this is not necessarily the case in the rest of South Africa? If theft is the most important motive, why are thousands of black shop owners not brutalised remotely as much during attacks by gangs as is the white farming community?
• Why are farmers constantly accused of mistreating their workers, thus precipitating farm attacks, while the Helen Suzman Foundation found that 93% of farm workers indicate their relationship with their employer is good?
• Why have bad socio-economic conditions become the reason for attacks, while it is acknowledged that bad socio-economic conditions existed before 1994 in black communities.
Read more here: The Great South African Land Scandal
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At a time of concern over food security, the government is treating food producers with contempt, according to the Freedom Front Plus (FF+).
“The brutality of farm murders is shocking,” FF+ MP Pieter Groenewald said in a statement.
He said he was waiting for a report by a committee appointed by Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula to investigate the reasons for the exceptional brutality shown to victims of violent crime.
He asked a question about it in Parliament early in April.
Groenewald quoted figures showing farmers were the most susceptible sector of society to murder, with an average of 313 cases in every 100 000.
Law enforcers, like police, are in second place, with 153 out of 100 000.
“A committee appointed in 2003 to investigate farm murders found victims of farm attacks were twice as likely to be injured than those who were targeted in cash-in-transit robberies.
“The chances of a victim dying were three times as high as in cash-in-transit robberies.
“It is scandalous that Minister Nqakula will not discuss safety with farmers’ organisations,” said Groenewald.
“Sector policing is not working in rural areas. This is causing a security vacuum, and the government knows this.”
The committee found there were 1 398 victims in 962 farm attacks, of which 147 or ten percent were murdered and 484 were injured.
“People forget about the trauma and injuries of these victims of farm attacks.”
About 1 600 farmers have been murdered.
Farm attacks and murders traumatised the entire farming community, Groenewald said.
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