by Ernst Roets
Copyright © Published edition Kraal Uitgewers Copyright © Text AfriForum, Ernst Roets
First Edition, 2018, Kraal Uitgewers
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This book is dedicated to the memory of
Wilmien Potgieter
Ephesians 6:12
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This is personal
Editor's notes
A land of sorrow
What is a farm attack?
Frequency: What are the numbers?
Brutality: How bad does it get?
Remoteness: Unique circumstances
Unique role: Why we cannot afford farm murders
Remoteness: Unique circumstances
A closer look
The question of motive
Swords, shields and spears
Apartheid and dispossession
Zeitgeist
A scourge of racism
Land and labour
Kill the Boer, kill the farmer
Shoot the Boer
Media complicity
How farm attacks were dropped from the agenda1
A cold shoulder
Investigating farm attacks
Prioritising farm attacks
Fighting back
The question of genocide
It’s not over
ABBREVIATIONS
AFASA African Farmers’ Association of South Africa
AFU African Farmers’ Union
Agri SA Agriculture South Africa
AI Amnesty International
ANC African National Congress
ANCWL African National Congress Women’s League
ANI AfriForum Research Institute
(Afrikaans: AfriForum Navorsingsinstituut)
AWB Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
(English: Afrikaner Resistance Movement)
BLF Black First Land First
CIAC Crime Information Analysis Centre
CoGTA Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
COPE Congress of the People
COSATU Congress of South African Trade Unions
CP Conservative Party
CPF Community Policing Forum
CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology
DA Democratic Alliance
DAC Department of Arts and Culture
DAFF Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
DL Department of Labour
DLA Department of Land Affairs
DIRCO Department of International Relations and Cooperation
DP Department of Police
DRDLR Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
EFF Economic Freedom Fighters
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation
FF Plus Freedom Front Plus
HRW Human Rights Watch
HSRC Human Sciences Research Council
ICC International Criminal Court
ICD Independent Complaints Directorate
ICJ International Court of Justice
ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
IFP Inkatha Freedom Party
IJR Institute of Justice and Reconciliation
ILO International Labour Organization
IPID Independent Police Investigative Directorate
IRCT International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
IRR Institute of Race Relations
ISS Institute for Security Studies
ITI In Transformation Initiative
JCPS Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster
JOINTS Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure
JSE Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Kwanalu KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union
LPM Landless People’s Movement
MK Umkhonto we Sizwe
MMC Member of the Mayoral Committee
MP Member of Parliament
MSM Mainstream media
NAFU National African Farmers Union
NCPS National Crime Prevention Strategy
NDP National Development Plan
NDR National Democratic Revolution
NGO Non-governmental organisation
NIA National Intelligence Agency
NOCOC National Operational Coordinating Committee
NPA National Prosecuting Authority
NP National Party
NRSS National Rural Safety Strategy
NWU North-West University
PFP Progressive Federal Party
PRVG Promotion of the Rights of Vulnerable Groups
RPP Rural Protection Plan
SAAU South African Agricultural Union
SACCI South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry
SAHRC South African Human Rights Commission
SAICE South African Institution of Civil Engineering
SAJEI The South African Judicial Education Institute
SANDF South African National Defence Force
SAPS South African Police Service
SASCO South African Students Congress
SC Senior Counsel
SRC Student Representative Council
SRI Solidarity Research Institute
SSA State Security Agency
TAU SA Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa
UCT University of Cape Town
UJ University of Johannesburg
UN United Nations
UNCAT United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
UP University of Pretoria
US Stellenbosch University
USA United States of America
VOC Vereenighde Oost-Indische Compagnie
WFDY World Federation of Democratic Youth
WFO World Farmers’ Organisation
Wits University of the Witwatersrand
ZAR Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek
(English: South African Republic)
LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND MAPS
Figures
SAPS data on farm attacks and farm murders: 2001/2002–2006/2007
SAPS data on farm attacks and farm murders: 1996/1997–2016/2017
TAU SA data on farm attacks and farm murders: 1990–2016Total number of murders committed in South Africa: 2007/2008–2016/2017
South African murder rate, calculated as the number of people murdered per 100 000 per year
Murder rate per 100 000 of selected countries, compared to that of South Africa
Employment in agriculture: 2001–2016
Agriculture’s ‘triple challenge’
Farm attacks per province: 1990–2012
&
nbsp; Farm attacks per province: 2010/2011–2015/2016, according to the SAPS with total number of attacks over period per province indicated
Farm murders per province: 2010/2011–2015/2016, according to the SAPS
Monthly distribution of farm attacks: 1998–2001 (CIAC)
Daily distribution of farm attacks: 2000–2001 (CIAC)
Hourly distribution of farm attacks: 2001 (CIAC)
Most prevalent crimes committed, indicated as a proportion of all farm attacks in 2001
Division of victims (1990–2012) according to age groups
Analysis of murder victims by TAU SA
Benefits to permanent farm workers in the Western Cape
Comparing: on-farm houses and off-farm houses in the Western Cape
Farm murders per week during 1993
Farm murders per week during 2010
Media reporting and racial characteristics (Afrikaans and English media)
Media reporting and racial characteristics (Afrikaans media)
Media reporting and racial characteristics (English media)
Reporting of known incidents, according to race
Average media mentions by number of deaths (white-on-black)
Average media mentions by number of deaths (black-on-white)
Average media mentions by number of deaths (black-on-black)
Mention of race by media outlet
Names not mentioned in the media though known, according to race
Media illustrations of victim or perpetrator, according to race
Most prevalent propositions on race in the South African media
Tables
Stations identified by the SAPS as hotspots for farm attacks: 2015/2016
Monthly distribution of farm attacks: 1998–2001 (CIAC)
Daily distribution of farm attacks: 2000–2001 (CIAC)
Hourly distribution of farm attacks: 2001 (CIAC)
Most prevalent crimes committed, indicated as a proportion of all farm attacks in 2001
Modus operandi during farm attacks, as identified by the SAPS
Analysis of murder victims by TAU SA
Symptoms found among victims after farm attacks
Victims’ perception of motive
Motivations for farm attacks, according to the Committee of Inquiry into Farm Attacks: 2003
Variance in farm attacks and murders after Peter Mokaba’s chanting of ‘Kill the Boer, kill the farmer’
Media mentions per incident, by crime categories
Media reporting and racial characteristics – summary of all incidents
Media reporting of white-on-black incidents, categorised according to the type of incident
Media reporting and race (Afrikaans media)
Media reporting and race (English media)
Number of persons killed in known incidents, according to race
Comparing media coverage per incident
Convicted SAPS personnel by crime category: 2013
Maps
Map of South Africa
Homicide rates by country or territory (2012 or latest year, excluding 2016/2017 data)
Farm murders plotted on a map of South Africa
Early human migrations, indicating the ‘Out of Africa’ theory
Map 1: Map of South Africa
(Source: WikiCommons, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), CIA World Factbook 2015)
PREFACE
This is personal
My grandfather was a farmer. So was his father before him. So is his son and today also the sons of his son. I grew up in the agricultural community of Tzaneen in Limpopo, where I spent much of my childhood on my grandfather’s farm, which later became my uncle’s farm and where my two cousins are now farming with him. Despite having adapted to the metropolitan Gauteng where I have lived since I finished high school, I still refer to myself as a plaasjapie (English: farm boy). Visiting my uncle and cousins on the farm still has a mesmerising effect on me. Everything just feels cleaner, fresher and more peaceful. I have always believed Tzaneen to be the most beautiful place in the country – not for the beauty of the town itself, but for the beauty of the farms.
But in this beauty – in this peace – lies a stark paradox: Tzaneen is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a farmer. This, in a country that is already the most dangerous country in which to be a farmer. Having lived on a farm for three years, I know the feeling of alarms going off in the middle of the night, of branches cracking outside the window, or the sudden silence of crickets, leaving you to wonder if that moment has finally arrived for you …
I have been involved with the civil and minority rights movement AfriForum since its founding in 2006, and have been a full-time employee since 2011. Since its inception the organisation has grown to be the largest civil rights organisation on the African continent and currently comprises more than 200 000 members. The promotion of community safety is one of our core goals. My job includes the coordinating of our campaigns for the prioritising of farm attacks in particular.
Campaigning against farm attacks is more than just a job, however. It is personal.
At the age of 32, the fingers on my two hands are not enough to count all the people I know who have either been attacked or murdered on South African farms and smallholdings, or whose loved ones have been murdered.
Let me prove this to you …
BATTLE AT BRONKHORSTSPRUIT
When my friend Henk Greyling (pseudonym) arrived at the farmhouse at 22:30 in the evening, he immediately knew that something was wrong. The large gate was open. The floodlights were off and the dogs were barking. Leaving the scene was not an option, as he knew that his uncle was in the house with five children, two of whom were still babies. The oldest of the children was sixteen and the youngest was only five months old. Greyling’s aunt sat in the bakkie (English: pickup truck) next to him.
He told his aunt to wait in the car, while he got out to inspect the small gate. Just as he reached the gate, he saw a shiny object swinging at him from the dark. Instinctively, he swung back with his fist, striking an attacker. Another attacker charged at him from behind, striking him hard on the back of his head with the back-end of a shotgun. Greyling fell to the ground. He was disoriented. He felt the man grabbing him from behind, swinging his left arm around his chest, holding him. He knew what would follow. The attacker’s right arm then swung in, clutching a blade. Greyling realised that the man was about to slit his throat, so he pressed down hard with his chin onto his neck, succeeding in twisting the blade.
When the man made the cut, he missed Greyling’s throat, but sliced open the flesh under his lower jaw. Adrenaline kicked in. Instinct took over. Greyling is a fighter, so he acted on his instinct – he fought back. The two men had, however, already overpowered him. Suddenly he felt a piece of metal in his mouth. The realisation that the barrel of a loaded .45 Magnum was stuck into his mouth seemed to have paralysed him just enough for the attackers to tie his hands behind his back. The thought of the children in the house never left his mind. The attackers dragged both him and his aunt into the house.
Once they were inside, they tied up his aunt next to his uncle, who was already tied up. There were eight or nine attackers in the house. Greyling managed to break loose. He rushed towards one of the attackers, attempting to punch him with his fist. However, he was shot in the right arm and fell to the floor. He immediately got up, so they shot him through the left shoulder. He dropped again. When he got up the third time, they fired two shots through his hips. In the heat of the moment, Greyling did not feel any pain, and so he assumed that they must have missed. His aunt pleaded for him to remain lying on the floor, which he then did. One of the attackers started kicking him, trampling him with safety boots, breaking his ribs and twisting his spine.
When Greyling got up again, they struck him in the face with the back of a firearm, breaking out three of his teeth.
They asked Greyling’s uncle for the keys to the safe, but he responded that h
e did not know where they were. So they took out a side cutter and made a big cut through his ear. Being a bleeder, Greyling’s uncle started bleeding excessively. They asked Henk for the keys to his uncle’s safe, but he also said that he did not have them. He noticed, however, that the safe had already been broken out of the wall.
After torturing Greyling, the attackers left the scene with the safe on the back of their vehicle. Greyling had been lying on his uncle and was soaked in blood. Still not realising that he had been shot, he assumed that it was only his uncle’s blood.
Greyling’s brother Stefan (pseudonym) arrived just after the attackers had left, so they jumped into the bakkie and chased after the attackers. They found the attackers with the vehicle next to the road, trying to open the safe. One of the attackers stood in the road. They started firing on each other. Greyling’s brother managed to run over him at full speed, crushing his body. His brother was shot through the collar bone and his lung was perforated. They rushed to the hospital.
Other than the attacker whose crushed body was found the following day on a garbage dump at a nearby black township, everyone survived. The most distressing part of my friend’s story will be better understood within the context of the information that I will disclose in the chapters to follow. For that reason, I will revert to my friend’s story in the closing chapter of this book.
LOVED ONES
On 31 May 2016, my own brother Pieter Roets was attacked by three men on a smallholding near Muldersdrift in Gauteng.1 Roets had fallen asleep on the couch and woke up to find attackers climbing through the kitchen window. As one came walking into the living room, Roets charged towards him, only to see the man sticking a loaded revolver into his face. They tied him up, made him lie flat on the floor with his face facing downwards and they threw a blanket over his head. Thinking that they would shoot him in the head any second, he listened as they ransacked his place. Once Roets believed them to have left, he waited for a little while and then managed to cut the ropes with his pocket knife. The attackers were arrested soon thereafter. They were found guilty on 33 counts, including three murders and five attempted murders, and sentenced to 309 years’ imprisonment each.
They had been charged for committing several farm attacks in the area. Up to 13 different incidents were reported. They had also been charged with several murders. My brother seemed to have been the only one of their victims who had suffered no physical harm.