Statistics released this week by AfriForum claim Gauteng has had the highest number of farm attacks for 2019 thus far.
The organisation announced that 51 of the total 184 farm attacks took place in the province.
The total number included 20 cases where a murder was committed.
While in some cases nothing was stolen, the instances where people were hurt “badly” were high, according to AfriForum’s community safety head Ian Cameron.
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Cameron said claims that farm murders were socio-economically motivated was “most definitely not the case”.
He said it was “interesting that [some] people and institutions state in their reports” concluded that it was the only reason behind farm murders.
“Apart from the fact that money sometimes plays a role, a more dangerous criminal is also involved with these attacks.
“In South Africa there is a tendency of murders being committed with knives or sharp objects while the vast majority of farm murders are committed with firearms.”
Cameron said statistics often resulted in attacks becoming “emotionally blunt”.
WATCH:
https://www.facebook.com/AfriForumNasionaal/videos/352768038598028/
“We have to remember that real people were involved and are sitting in the background, who were hurt terribly and must be going through severe trauma.”
Cameron said the organisation was also worried about the increase in farm attacks in the Western Cape.
“Attacks in the province have increased extremely, in such a manner that more than double the number of attacks (17) were reported from 1 January to 31 May 2019 compared to this period in 2018.”
AfriForum’s deputy CEO Ernst Roets, said it was concerning that mainstream commentators and opinion shapers actively discredited attempts to report the “common occurrence” of farm attacks.
He claimed some chose to report it as a conspiracy theory or an exaggeration.
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“Farm murders and attacks are serious crises.
“It is important that we communicate factually about it and just as important that we acknowledge the extent of the crisis for what it is,” he said.
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