South African Farmer Murders
Encyclopedia
The South Africa
n farming
community has suffered from attacks for many years. The majority of the victims have been white farmers
, with claims of death tolls of up to 3,000 cited in the national and international media. While the government describes the attacks as simply part of the bigger picture of crime in South Africa white farmers point to brutal attacks and incidents involving self-declared racist motivations as evidence of a campaign to drive them off their land.
In 2010, the issue garnered greater international attention in light of the murder of the far-right political figure Eugene Terre'Blanche
on his farm.
According to the South African Police Service
National Operational Co-ordinating Committee:
This definition excludes "social fabric crimes", that is those crimes committed by members of the farming community on one another, such as domestic or workplace violence, and focuses on outsiders entering the farms to commit specific criminal acts. The safety and security MEC for Mpumalanga, Dina Pule, has disagreed with this definition and has stated that "farm attacks" only included those cases "where farm residents were murdered, and not cases of robberies or attempted murders." Human Rights Watch has criticised the use of the term "farm attacks", which they regard as "suggesting a terrorist or military purpose", which they consider to not be the primary motivation for most farm attacks. On September 15th 2011, Genocide Watch placed South Africa at level 6, Preperation, saying "we have evidence of organized incitement to violence against white people". Genocide Watch stated that by 2001 "2.2 percent of ethno-European farmers had already been murdered and more than... 12 percent of these farmers had been attacked on their farms". As of 2011 approximately 3,000-4,000 ethnically-European farmers have been murdered in South Africa.
The Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) questioned a number of the report's findings, claiming that theft and desire for land did not adequately explain some of the attacks.
has been criticised both for not doing more to prevent farm attacks, and for giving the issue a disproportionate amount of attention:
volunteers, and private security companies
. These forces are more likely to be able to respond rapidly to security alarms than widely-distributed police stations. The particular mix of groups that operate varies by area, with border zones continuing a strong history of Commando volunteers, while wealthier farmers are more likely to employ private security firms. The police and these groups are linked together as part of the Rural Protection Plan, created in 1997 by President Nelson Mandela
. However, in 2003 the government began disbanding commando units, on the rationale that they had been "part of the apartheid state's security apparatus".
Others have chosen to migrate to countries they consider to be safer, like Georgia.
Julius Malema
sang the lyrics "shoot the boer
" (Dubul' ibhunu – "Boer" is the Afrikaans word for "farmer", but is also used as a derogatory term for Afrikaners). His singing was compared to similar chants by deceased Youth League leader Peter Mokaba
in the early 1990s, "kill the boer",. which had previously been defined as hate speech
by the South African Human Rights Commission
.
Recently, Julius Malema was summoned for the criminal offence of hate speech by Solidarity and Afriforum in the Southern Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to explain his actions. On 16 May 2011 the judge in the case ruled that the use of the phrase was incitement to murder.
In 2011 Afriforum youth and the Transvaal Agricultural Union
(TAU SA) brought an application forward against ANC youth league leader Julius Malema
at the equality court over his singing of the song. Afriforum argued that “Boer” referred either to Afrikaners or farmers and that Malema was a public and influential leader, openly singing lyrics that incited violence towards an ethnic group, which constituted hate speech. TAU said, that it was not about the intent but how the message was perceived by the targeted group or the group that felt targeted. ANC lawyers argued that the contentious lyrics were taken completely out of context and that he word "ibhunu" or even “boer” did not refer to Afrikaners, but to the system of apartheid. Expert witnesses stated that the chant, the words, could spur to violence, especially marginalised people. On 12 September 2011, Judge Lamont ruled that the singing of the words shoot the boer amounts to hate speech. He also declared the singing of the song in any capacity to be illegal stating that he finds no possible justifications for singing the song The ANC has announced that they will appeal the ruling
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n farming
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
community has suffered from attacks for many years. The majority of the victims have been white farmers
Agriculture in South Africa
Agriculture in South Africa plays a major role in the economy of South Africa.South Africa has a broad and well-developed agricultural sector and is a net food exporter in most years. Agricultural production, reflecting the sector's increased mechanization and commercialization, increased...
, with claims of death tolls of up to 3,000 cited in the national and international media. While the government describes the attacks as simply part of the bigger picture of crime in South Africa white farmers point to brutal attacks and incidents involving self-declared racist motivations as evidence of a campaign to drive them off their land.
In 2010, the issue garnered greater international attention in light of the murder of the far-right political figure Eugene Terre'Blanche
Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche was a former member of South Africa's Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging during the apartheid era...
on his farm.
Terminology and definition
South African statutory law does not define a "farm attack" as a specific crime. Rather, the term is used to refer to a number of different crimes committed against persons specifically on commercial farms or smallholdings.According to the South African Police Service
South African Police Service
The South African Police Service is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1116 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province...
National Operational Co-ordinating Committee:
Attacks on farms and smallholdings refer to acts aimed at the person of residents, workers and visitors to farms and smallholdings, whether with the intent to murder, rape, rob or inflict bodily harm. In addition, all actions aimed at disrupting farming activities as a commercial concern, whether for motives related to ideology, labour disputes, land issues, revenge, grievances, racist concerns or intimidation, should be included.
This definition excludes "social fabric crimes", that is those crimes committed by members of the farming community on one another, such as domestic or workplace violence, and focuses on outsiders entering the farms to commit specific criminal acts. The safety and security MEC for Mpumalanga, Dina Pule, has disagreed with this definition and has stated that "farm attacks" only included those cases "where farm residents were murdered, and not cases of robberies or attempted murders." Human Rights Watch has criticised the use of the term "farm attacks", which they regard as "suggesting a terrorist or military purpose", which they consider to not be the primary motivation for most farm attacks. On September 15th 2011, Genocide Watch placed South Africa at level 6, Preperation, saying "we have evidence of organized incitement to violence against white people". Genocide Watch stated that by 2001 "2.2 percent of ethno-European farmers had already been murdered and more than... 12 percent of these farmers had been attacked on their farms". As of 2011 approximately 3,000-4,000 ethnically-European farmers have been murdered in South Africa.
Committee of Inquiry
A Committee of Inquiry into Farm Attacks was appointed in 2001 by the National Commissioner of Police. The purpose of the committee was to "inquire into the ongoing spate of attacks on farms, which include violent criminal acts such as murder, robbery, rape, etc, to determine the motives and factors behind these attacks and to make recommendations on their findings." The Committee used the definition for farm attacks as that supplied by the SAPS. The findings were published on 31 July 2003, and the main conclusions of the report were that:- Perpetrators tended to be young, unemployedUnemploymentUnemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
black men overwhelmingly from dysfunctional familyDysfunctional familyA dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
backgrounds. - Only a small proportion of attacks involved murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, although the rate of murder had increased by 25% since 2005. - TheftTheftIn common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
was committed in almost all cases - in cases where no theft appeared to take place, it was usually because the attackers had been disturbed. - White people were not targeted exclusively; in 2001 61% of farm attack victims were white.
- The total number of attacks was about 2,500, while farmers’ organisations state the figure to be closer to 3,000.
The Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) questioned a number of the report's findings, claiming that theft and desire for land did not adequately explain some of the attacks.
Criticism
The South African governmentGovernment of South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a nearly unique system that combines aspects of parliamentary and presidential systems. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa...
has been criticised both for not doing more to prevent farm attacks, and for giving the issue a disproportionate amount of attention:
- Gideon Meiring, chairperson of the TAU's safety and security committee, criticised the South African Police Service for failing to prevent farm attacks, stating that the police "are not part of the solution but part of the bloody problem". Meiring has assisted farming communities in setting up private armed patrols in their area.
- Kallie Kriel of AfriForum accused politicians, including Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana and her deputy Dirk du ToitDirk du ToitDirk Cornelis du Toit was the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs of the Republic of South Africa from 1999 to 2009....
, of inciting hatred against farmers, saying "Those who inflame hate and aggression towards farmers have to be regarded as accomplices to the murders of farmers." In particular, Kriel condemned claims that violence against farm workers by farmers was endemic. Kriel also highlighted a court case in which ANC MP Patrick Chauke publicly blamed the white community for murders and at which ANC demonstrators displayed slogans such as "One settler, one bullet!", "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer!" and "Maak dood die wit man" (Kill the white man). Simple theft could not be used to explain the full motive of the attacks as it was not necessary to torture or murder victims in order to rob them.
- Human Rights Watch criticised the government for placing too much emphasis on protecting farmers, at the expense of protecting farm workers from abuse by farm owners. They suggest that "farm attacks" are given a disproportionately high media and political focus. "Murders on farms (of owners, or of workers by owners) are given an individual attention that many other killings are not."
- In 2004, former South African journalist Jani AllanJani AllanJani Allan is a South African columnist and radio commentator. She became a household name as a columnist for the Sunday Times where she worked between 1979-90. She is also known for her alleged affair with an interviewee, the late right-wing political leader Eugène Terre'Blanche...
appeared on the Jeff RenseJeff RenseJeff Rense is an American conspiracy theorist and radio talk-show host of the Jeff Rense Program, broadcast on US satellite radio via Republic Broadcasting Network and Internet radio....
radio show to 7 million listeners. She denounced the attacks and accused the South African government of a genocidal campaign. She encouraged Americans to sponsor the emigration of poor Afrikaner families. Ronnie Mamoepa, the spokesperson for the South African foreign affairs department, said the department would not respond to Allan's claims, as this would give her "undue attention she does not deserve". Afrikaner intellectual Hermann GiliomeeHermann GiliomeeHermann Giliomee is an author of historical and political studies, former Professor of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town , President of the South African Institute of Race Relations and current Extraordinary Professor of History at the Stellenbosch University.He co-founded Die...
has also slammed Allan. He said Allan should not be taken seriously. While there had been large numbers of farm murders, there was no evidence to prove that the killings were an orchestrated political campaign, he said.
Prevention
While the police are supposed to regularly visit commercial farms to ensure security, they are unable to provide effective protection due to the wide areas that need to be covered and a lack of funding. The protection gap has been filled by 'Farmwatch' groups which link together by radio nearby farmers who can provide mutual assistance, local CommandoSouth African Commando System
The South African Commando System is a voluntary, part-time force of the South African Army. but serves under the South African Police Service.-Mission:...
volunteers, and private security companies
Private security companies
Private security companies can refer to:* companies that employ security guards* Private military companies* Private security company...
. These forces are more likely to be able to respond rapidly to security alarms than widely-distributed police stations. The particular mix of groups that operate varies by area, with border zones continuing a strong history of Commando volunteers, while wealthier farmers are more likely to employ private security firms. The police and these groups are linked together as part of the Rural Protection Plan, created in 1997 by President Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
. However, in 2003 the government began disbanding commando units, on the rationale that they had been "part of the apartheid state's security apparatus".
Others have chosen to migrate to countries they consider to be safer, like Georgia.
"Shoot the boer" controversy
In March 2010, at a rally on a university campus, president of the African National Congress Youth LeagueAfrican National Congress Youth League
The African National Congress Youth League is the youth wing of the African National Congress.-Foundation:Its foundation in 1944 by Nick Gombart, Ashley Peter Mda, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo marked the rise of a new generation of leadership of South Africa's black African...
Julius Malema
Julius Malema
Julius Sello Malema is a South African politician, and the former president of the African National Congress Youth League. Malema occupies a notably controversial position in South African public and political life; having risen to prominence with his support for African National Congress...
sang the lyrics "shoot the boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
" (Dubul' ibhunu – "Boer" is the Afrikaans word for "farmer", but is also used as a derogatory term for Afrikaners). His singing was compared to similar chants by deceased Youth League leader Peter Mokaba
Peter Mokaba
Peter Mokaba was a member of the South African parliament, deputy minister in the government of Nelson Mandela and president of the South African governing party's youth wing, the ANC Youth League...
in the early 1990s, "kill the boer",. which had previously been defined as hate speech
Hate speech
Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic....
by the South African Human Rights Commission
South African Human Rights Commission
The South African Human Rights Commission was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent national institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the South African Human Rights Commission Act of 1994....
.
Recently, Julius Malema was summoned for the criminal offence of hate speech by Solidarity and Afriforum in the Southern Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to explain his actions. On 16 May 2011 the judge in the case ruled that the use of the phrase was incitement to murder.
In 2011 Afriforum youth and the Transvaal Agricultural Union
Transvaal Agricultural Union
The Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa is an Agricultural Organization with the main goal of protecting private property rights and the safety of South African farmers. It seeks to protect the agricultural sector in South Africa against what it perceives to be the attacks by communism...
(TAU SA) brought an application forward against ANC youth league leader Julius Malema
Julius Malema
Julius Sello Malema is a South African politician, and the former president of the African National Congress Youth League. Malema occupies a notably controversial position in South African public and political life; having risen to prominence with his support for African National Congress...
at the equality court over his singing of the song. Afriforum argued that “Boer” referred either to Afrikaners or farmers and that Malema was a public and influential leader, openly singing lyrics that incited violence towards an ethnic group, which constituted hate speech. TAU said, that it was not about the intent but how the message was perceived by the targeted group or the group that felt targeted. ANC lawyers argued that the contentious lyrics were taken completely out of context and that he word "ibhunu" or even “boer” did not refer to Afrikaners, but to the system of apartheid. Expert witnesses stated that the chant, the words, could spur to violence, especially marginalised people. On 12 September 2011, Judge Lamont ruled that the singing of the words shoot the boer amounts to hate speech. He also declared the singing of the song in any capacity to be illegal stating that he finds no possible justifications for singing the song The ANC has announced that they will appeal the ruling