Fears That Farm Murders Are On The Rise

Fears That Farm Murders Are On The Rise 

Pretoria – Five farm attacks have taken place during the last four days, according to civil rights group Afriforum, who warn that South African farmers may be in for a tough year as the escalation of farm murders and attacks continue and even worsen into 2014.
“In the latest incident, a farmer and his wife were attacked by two armed men on their farm outside Barkly-East last night. The farmer, Sarel Pretorius from the farm Rooipoort, was shot dead. His wife was locked in the bathroom,” said Deputy CEO of Afriforum, Ernst Roets.
Roets said while police did react quickly after the attack and murder, taking fingerprints at the scene, it remains a top priority for police to declare farm attacks a priority crime.
“There is no fence left to sit on in this crisis. Either the police are part of the solution or they are part of the problem,” said Roets.
But Afriforum Head of Community Safety, Ian Cameron said pressure on government alone cannot solve the crisis. He said communities have both the right and ability to safeguard themselves:
“The don’t-care attitude of government towards farm murders has created a situation where the public must take responsibility for their own safety. We appeal to people to become involved with community safety networks. In communities where these networks were established we can see a significant drop in crime.”

After the Barkly East attack Afriforum’s own neighbourhood and farm watches were mobilised to find the attackers, who had reported fled in a stolen white Toyota Hilux bakkie.
Four other farm attacks took place since last week:

• 11 January – Bloemspruit. Dr Jacob Swart and his wife Elise were attacked on their farm with knives and steel pipes by two men. The attackers fled with a .22 revolver, a rifle, two cell phones and an undisclosed amount of cash.
• 12 January – Wallmansthal area. An R5 attack rifle, allegedly issued only to the SAPS, was used in an attack on two victims in their sixties. The farmer was wounded and electrical appliances were stolen.
• 14 January – Waterval area near Pretoria. The farmer was lured outside and attacked with a machete.
• 14 January – Wallmansthal area. A farmer was held hostage and attacked.