80 killed in farm attacks in five-year period
The Gauteng province was also identified as the province which recorded the highest number of documented farm murders while the Northern Cape had the lowest.
A total of 80 people were killed in farm attacks in the Gauteng province between 2016 and 2021, AfriForum revealed in a report during a media briefing last week.
Overall, a total of 364 people were killed in the country during the same period.
The Gauteng province recorded the highest number of documented farm murders while the Northern Cape had the lowest.
In 2020, at least three farm attacks were recorded in the north of Pretoria.
In the first incident, in the Lusthoff area, a couple endured a six-hour farm attack at the hands of two men – one armed with a firearm and the other with a monkey wrench.
While the woman narrowly escaped being raped, many of their household items and vehicles were stolen.
However, 80% of the stolen goods which included clothing, shoes, bedding, mattresses, refrigerators, sofas, and vehicles were recovered.
In the other incident, an elderly woman was shot and killed and her husband severely assaulted for a cellphone on their Gootvlei Oos smallholding.
A few days later, a man believed to be in his 50s was also shot and killed in an attack on a smallholding in the Rooiwal area.
These incidents bore testament to the report’s findings that there was not a single year wherein torture did not occur and that 15% of farm murder victims were tortured.
AfriForum researcher Johan Nortjé said this was concerning and required urgent attention and that the 2020 percentage of murder victims who were tortured was 24%.
“This shows that farm attacks are not just ordinary crimes and should be prioritised,” Nortjé said.
Another finding from the report was that more than 50% of murders occurred on farms and not smallholdings.
In one such incident in Gerhardsville, Centurion, in 2021 a man aged between 55 and 65 was shot six or seven times in both his legs during an armed robbery at a farm in Vlakplaas.
Two other farm attacks occurred at the time of him being shot.
The report also found that the average age of victims was 50 and most murder victims were white. While most murders occurred between 18:00 and 20:59, they occurred at any time of the day. Shootings were the leading cause of death in 52% of murder victims whose cause of death was known.
The organisation’s report also looked into the arrest and conviction rates of perpetrators who were involved in farm attacks during the six years.
“An average of 47% of known attackers during farm murders were arrested, but only 33% of the arrested perpetrators were convicted,” AfriForum’s policy and action head Ernst Roets said.
He said these statistics were “truly shocking” and showed that the criminal justice system allegedly failed victims of farm attacks.
“In light of the murder and torture rates on farms, it is now necessary for farmers to take their safety into their own hands. AfriForum aims to make farmers and their families more defensible against farm attacks,” Roets said.
During the release of the latest quarter’s crime statistics last month, police minister Bheki Cele said 11 people were killed in the 11 incidents of murder which occurred on farms and smallholdings.
These statistics were recorded between October and December 2021.
“Three of these murders were either farm dwellers or workers or passersby who were reported to have been murdered as a result of an attack by the farm owner or farm manager,” Cele said.
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