Too often, people are not just robbed but tortured, disabled, humiliated, or murdered for no other reason than a sense of power over the victims.
One thing about US President Donald Trump is that he doesn’t like to be wrong about anything, and the government he runs is no different — especially when it comes to farm murders.
Trump recently met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the site of the Reserve’s $2.5 billion (R44.6 billion) renovation. In front of the world’s cameras, the pair openly argued about the project’s scope and cost.
In true Trump style, he brought receipts to show the renovation was more than the budget. When interrogated by Powell, the Chairperson claimed Trump’s amount included the cost of a building already completed and not part of the current project.
As cringeworthy as the encounter may have been, it was a hallmark of the “never let the truth get in the way of a good fight” proverb currently written on the White House walls.
And just as South Africa thought it was no longer in the firing line, the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor this week dug up its SA farm murders crusade.
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What is happening on farms?
It is interesting, but not surprising, that it dropped the “white genocide” rhetoric that was the mountain Trump seemed willing to die on just two months ago. But it still condemned South Africa for farm murders and the chanting of “Kill the Boer” by political leaders.
Official statistics have never proven that there is a targeted genocide of white people, including on farms, but they do prove that farm murders do exist.
And, concerningly, the bureau correctly pointed out that these murders “are not ordinary crimes”.
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It said in some documented cases, victims were “tortured or killed without anything being stolen” and concluded that “these attacks are not motivated by poverty alone”.
Too often, people are not just robbed but cruelly tortured, disabled, or humiliated for no other reason than a sense of power over the victims.
With a history of racial division and brutal violence, such attacks are sadly common in South Africa — both on farms and in cities — and need to be taken seriously.
Yes, acknowledging we have a crime issue is an essential first step. Having a serious and violent crimes unit correctly takes that further. But that unit is severely overworked, understaffed, and under-resourced.
Creating a farm murders unit may have been a suggestion, but more impactful would be to empower those who already deal with a crime sickness in the country that is almost beyond cure.
The judicial inquiry into police corruption, political interference, and criminal collusion with some of the most senior politicians in the country will have a lot on its plate. Still, it must give serious attention to the extreme violence that characterises crime in this country.
It must also be addressed at the upcoming national dialogue, with actionable steps taken and not just lip service.
Without a clear plan and addressing the underlying issues of poverty, deprivation, and powerlessness that have made crime so violent, vigilantism, and police brutality will continue until they destroy whole communities.
The president will then call a family meeting to say he is “shocked” and start another gravy-train department or inquiry.
On the other side of the globe, they will claim they were right all along.
