27 JULY, 2019
FARM MURDERS ARE ON THE INCREASE IN SOUTH AFRICA IN 2019
Dear supporter of this petition
Now that the national elections in South Africa is done and dusted, I can once again turn my full attention to the deteriorating crime situation in South Africa, with special attention to farm murders.
It is disturbing to read Hesti Steenkamp’s report that official statistics released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) indicate that attacks on South African farmers are on the increase:
“The South African civil rights organisation AfriForum wishes to inform the media that official statistics released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) indicate that attacks on South African farmers are on the increase.
This is particularly important because significant press coverage was given by foreign and international media to the false claim that farm murders in South Africa is currently the lowest that it has been in 20 years. In fact, SAPS statistics indicate that the contrary is true. This inaccurate claim created the false impression that the problem of South African farmers being under violent attack is not really a problem worth taking note of.
The source of this inaccurate claim is a report that was published in 2018 by an agricultural organisation, in which it was claimed that farm murders were at a so-called “19-year low”. The authors of this report stated that their findings in this regard were based on data provided to them by the SAPS. The claim was quickly debunked, however, and can easily be refuted by doing a simple Google search.
The authors of the inaccurate report have since conceded that the number is inaccurate and have subsequently updated their report.
The SAPS has subsequently published data on farm attacks and farm murders, which also indicate that farm murders are not on a 19-year low. This information shows the contrary: Although there has been a gradual decrease since the peak of the farm murder crisis in 1997, there has been a gradual increase in farm murders since 2011, as well as a significant increase in farm attacks since 2015…
AfriForum has also noted severe levels of violence and brutality displayed by attackers in recent years.”
See graph at:
https://www.afriforum.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Plaasmoorde_Grafiek-1.jpg
Every day I get disturbing messages via social media about the worsening situation on South African farms.
A reliable source on Twitter is Ian Cameron at https://twitter.com/IanCameron23 , who reports daily on the untenable situation on South African farms.
Ian recently reports that:
‘July 18 2019 in Frankfort District, Free State, an elderly upcoming farmed (71) was attacked by 6 suspects and had his throat slit. One of the suspects was found with cattle stolen from the victim, eventually leading police to the body.’
These attacks seem to be happening on a weekly basis:
‘July 16 2019: Muldersdrift, Gauteng. Owner and his son are both shot by 5 armed attackers. Attackers flee with a tv. Both victims are taken to hospital and stabilized, although the son remains in a critical condition. No arrests made.’
‘16 July 2019: Kameeldrift area, Gauteng. Elderly residents were woken by three armed suspects in their bedroom. Both were tied up using cables. Firearms safe broken out of the wall and stolen along with keys and phones.’
As far back as November, 2017, the then Police Minister Fikile Mbalula committed himself to have a rural safety strategy finalised by the end of the year (2017) to address the wave of farm killings in South Africa.
A new Police minister has been appointed after the May 2019 elections and yet no rural safety strategy has been finalised.
A News 24 journalist, James de Villiers, reported on November 29, 2017, the following:
“Cape Town – A rural safety strategy to address the wave of farm killings in South Africa will be finalised by the end of the year, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Mbalula said he had met with the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) and it was agreed that addressing farm killings "is and must be a priority".
"Police need to create a conducive environment for farmers to produce and ensure food security for all our people," Mbalula said.
"We reiterate the spirit of the Freedom Charter, that South Africa belongs to all who live in it."
In the statement, the police ministry indicated that office-bound police officers would be deployed during the upcoming festive season to respond to farm killings.
Meanwhile, the SAPS has distanced itself from a "fake news" story alleging that newly appointed National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole has said farm murders do not exist.
"We strongly condemn the fake news article and call on the public to disregard the story," Sitole's spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo told News24 on Wednesday evening.
"This is not the view of the national police commissioner or the SAPS."
Farm murders have been in the spotlight in recent weeks after thousands of South Africans gathered on Monday, October 30, in an event dubbed #BlackMonday.
The gathering was sparked by the murder of Klapmuts farmer Joubert Conradie on October 24.
Since then, the National Assembly has debated the incidence of farm murders in the country, with the DA and COPE calling on the SAPS to address the issue.
The official number of farm murders in the country remains disputed as the SAPS does not release official statistics on these crimes.”
South African Civil Rights organisation, AfriForum, is having great success in cooperating with local police to arrest criminals who target isolated farms.
Hesti Steenkamp wrote the following encouraging report on July 2, 2019 on how AfriForum Farm watch played a vital role in arresting 10 suspects:
“AfriForum Argent farm watch in Delmas and the Sundra SAPS arrested 10 people in total on 1 July 2019.
The first five arrest were alleged farm attackers. Petrol attendants at the local fuel station alerted the Argent farm watch of a suspect vehicle with five passengers that had been lingering there for a considerable time. The farm watch investigated, and the SAPS was called in. The vehicle was then searched, and a number of items seized, including tools for a burglary, knives, ropes, cable-ties, pangas and sausage laced with the so-called two-step poison. The suspects confessed that they had targeted a farm in the area and had planned to attack the farm after nightfall. The SAPS then arrested the suspects.
After the arrests were made, the farm watch returned to the fuel station and found yet another five suspects with an assortment of tools in their possession that are typically used to steal vehicle tyres and batteries. These suspects were then also arrested by the SAPS.
“AfriForum Argent farm watch is proud to have been part of the successful prevention of a farm attack. We want to encourage the community to become involved more often and to join the local safety networks,” says Wessel Badenhorst, Chairperson of AfriForum’s Argent farm watch.
AfriForum prioritises farm attacks as violent crimes and often support victims. It is therefore a great honour that, with the help of valuable information and proactive action, we were able to prevent this type of crime and can increase safety in our communities,” says Hillel Coetzer, AfriForum’s Head of Safety for the northern region.”
It is alarming to note that President Cyril Ramaphosa remained silent on the issue of farm murders in his latest state of the nation address and he only denounced it during his reply on the Presidency’s budget debate in parliament recently after leader of the FF Plus, Pieter Mulder, again asked why he had not officially made a statement about farm murders.
What is even more alarming is that President Ramaphosa denies on international platforms that farm murders are a serious crisis in South Africa.
It is however, praiseworthy to note that the premiers and provincial ministers of Gauteng, Western Cape and Northwest view farm murders as a priority crime and that they are prepared to fund specialist units that will be tasked with the prevention of farm attacks and murders.
Our campaign to inform the world about the truth of farm murders and land grabs in South Africa continues on Facebook at the link below:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/182755665608090/
Email me at: louisgreen69@gmail.com
Please PASS ON THIS FOLLOWING LINK to your family and friends to support this campaign:
https://www.change.org/p/the-secretary-general-of-the-united-nations-end-farm-murders-in-south-africa to get the latest count.
Be Blessed
Kind Regards
Bishop Louis Michael Green
Petition Initiator to the UN
Kraaifontein
The Western Cape Province
South Africa
Email: louisgreen69@gmail.com