Kill the Boer

by Ernst Roets

  OBSERVATIONS BY CRIME SCENE CLEAN-UP

  Two sisters, Roelien Schutte and Eileen de Jager, who run a company called Crime Scene Clean-up, achieved a degree of fame when the book Blood Sisters was written about their endeavours and what they have experienced on crime scenes in South Africa.35 An entire chapter is dedicated to farm attacks, where they had to clean more than a hundred crime scenes. ‘The atmosphere on the scene of a farm murder is noticeably different,’ says De Jager. Schutte and De Jager are convinced that the term farm murders is misleading. According to these individuals, who have dealt with scenes of all kinds of violent crime, including hits ordered by organised crime, the terms farm torture or farm terror would be more appropriate.36 ‘In a farm murder, robbery is seldom the motive. Robbery is merely a side effect. Murder is the motive; revenge another element. Actually, after what we’ve seen on many different scenes, we can’t help thinking that it is actually all about torture and murder.’37

  Schutte and De Jager are concerned that the brutality of farm attacks is fairly unknown among, or underestimated by, the general public. ‘Nobody knows about the hours of torture. We see it in what we find after a murder like that. An old woman being raped in front of her husband, an old man whose Achilles’ tendons are cut so that he can’t walk anymore … After that, he is executed. On his knees. That is the case with most men being killed in farm attacks. They are shot execution style.’38

  They have noticed how, in some of the more horrific scenes, the details are concealed in the manner in which the stories are reported by the mainstream media to make it easier for the deceased’s family.39 While one could argue that this might be the ethical way to report on farm murders to show respect for the surviving loved ones, the negative consequences are that the true horror of these attacks are underestimated in the public’s perception.

  They continue, explaining what they have witnessed with regard to women: ‘Attackers like to cut the women’s throats. Or to push broken bottles up their vaginas.’40 The so-called Blood Sisters talk about how sharp objects are pushed up women’s genitalia, including fishing rods, glass bottles and sharpened broomsticks. In one case, the woman was found with a sharpened end of a broomstick sticking out of her throat.41

  They describe a crime scene in which a farmer was tied up, gagged and forced to watch how the attackers took turns to rape his wife. Once the attackers had finished, they took a shard of broken glass and started mutilating her private parts.42

  Judging from these stories, it is as if there is no limit to the creativity of the attackers when it comes to inventing new and horrendous methods of torture.

  Elderly victims and children are especially targeted for brutal killings. In the case mentioned above, where the farmer was gagged and forced to witness the raping of his wife, the couple’s son was also drowned in a bathtub filled with boiling water.43

  One of the most nauseating scenes was where a grandfather, grandmother and their two grandchildren, aged about four and six, had been killed. ‘The old man was frail and sickly, and his wife tried desperately to protect her loved ones. We could clearly tell that from the scene.’ The grandmother was restrained and raped behind the kitchen counter, while her grandchildren were killed just a few metres from her. ‘Judging from the pattern of her bloody hand marks, it looks as if she tried to get to them but was pulled back repeatedly. Can you even begin to imagine the emotions going through her mind ...’ There were two big pools of blood, less than a metre apart, where the children had been murdered.44

  In another case, an old lady was beaten to death with a golf club under her bed when the attackers realised that they would not be able to pull her out from under the bed.45

  In some cases the victim’s faces are beaten to an unrecognisable pulp, ‘beaten over and over and over’ until no facial features are discernible. ‘Only a bloody mess.’46

  The Blood Sisters have witnessed cases where the nails of the victims had been removed and placed next to the dead bodies, and frequent cases where body parts, especially genitalia, had been removed. In some cases the victims were scalped.47 In one case, the dismembered body parts of a murdered farmer were thrown in a chicken coop, where the chickens started pecking at it.48

  The methods of torture used are not only physical. Often the psychological element is far worse, such as the case with Christine Otto, whose late husband’s ashes were poured over her head; Tina van Wyk, who was told by her attackers that they would make her feel like a ‘special woman’; and so forth. An extended case of psychological torture, which apparently never made the news, was witnessed by the Blood Sisters: they once had to clean up a scene where a young man had been killed on a farm. A week afterwards, the young man’s mother was killed on the same farm. A week thereafter, the father was also murdered. ‘We think they wanted to extend the suffering,’ says Schutte. ‘Just think: one week you bury your son. A week later, your wife. And you know the murderers are still out there …’ When the farmer himself was eventually killed, he was cut up and completely dismembered. His hands, arms and legs were all cut off at the joints. The pieces were then neatly put together, back where they should be – a scene described as a ‘human puzzle’. His body parts were displayed with the arms spread out, as if he had been crucified. Inside the house, little heaps of ashes and dolosse (ox knuckle-joint bones, used by witch doctors or as toys by African children) were found, suggesting that a spiritual ceremony had been executed during or after the attack.49

  However, it is not only humans that are subject to excessive levels of violence, as pets are also often killed during these attacks. On several occasions pets’ throats are slit.50 Other methods of killing pets include kicking them to death and crushing their heads. ‘It’s as if these bastards get joy from this.’51

  THE SIGNIFICANCE OF OVERKILL

  The levels of brutality and violence can be regarded as one of the characteristics of farm attacks, writes Lorraine Claasen, researcher at ANI. ‘The apparent motives of the attacks are for the most part out of context with the associated violence displayed,’ she concludes.52

  The extreme levels of violence are used to intimidate landowners with the sole purpose of scaring the farmers away from their property to facilitate the land invasion process, argues Neels Moolman of the Department of Criminology at the University of Limpopo.53 He further argues that the spoils obtained during these attacks can be regarded as a bonus and not the primary aim of the attack.

  Overkill can be defined as ‘an excess of something (such as a quantity or an action) beyond what is required or suitable for a particular purpose’54 or ‘the amount by which destruction or the capacity for destruction exceeds what is necessary.’55 It is evident from all the above-mentioned examples that these attacks coincide with significant levels of overkill and that the brutality of farm murders is in many cases totally unrelated to the value of the items stolen in such attacks. The horrific levels of violence that are evident in farm attacks are, however, a matter that is swept under the carpet by the South African government, politicians who are aligned with the ruling ANC, the SAPS and many mainstream commentators. This, in turn, raises serious questions about the motive of the attackers – a matter that will be explored in Chapter 8.

  Robert was struck on the head with the butt of a gun. ‘They were pulling me backwards and forwards,’ recalls Robert. They pulled him out of the bedroom and into the lounge. ‘I couldn’t see Sue, but I knew that she was still alive. I could hear her breathing heavily.’ At the time it was still pitch dark. ‘One of the attackers walked straight to the light switch, which surprised me.’ They were clearly prepared and they had a clear hierarchy. One of the men acted like a godfather.

  CHAPTER 5

  Unique role: Why we cannot afford farm murders

  Other than the extreme frequency with which South African farmers are attacked and killed and the extreme levels of brutality that often accompany these attacks, the unique role that farmers have to play is a crucial point in the arg
ument for prioritising these attacks.

  ‘What most people don’t realise is that the farmer on the farm is the lifeblood of our society,’ says Hibbe van der Veen, who has given up farming after being shot during a farm attack. ‘If the milk farmer doesn’t deliver his milk, there won’t be any more butter.’1

  Farmers are not merely a particular community, but a community of employers and food producers. In his book How long will South Africa survive?, RW Johnson dedicates a chapter to the state’s repression of economic activity, of which the looming agricultural crisis is a particular case in point and one of the biggest indicators that the country is on a path towards a crisis at large. ‘If the current attrition in the number of farmers continues there seems no doubt that the country will cease to be able to feed itself, with potentially explosive results.’2 He continues: ‘Here is the bottom line: under ANC rule more and more South Africans are going to bed hungry.’3

  ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

  South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to be R4,7 trillion ($376 billion) in 2017,4 with GDP per capita at R83 000 ($6 640).5 Out of the roughly 56,5 million people living in South Africa, around 37 million are aged between 15 and 64, of whom 22,3 million people (60%) are economically active, meaning that they’re either in formal or informal employment, or unemployed but actively looking for work. Another 2,4 million people are considered discouraged work seekers, resigned to the fact of long-term unemployment.6

  Agriculture comprised 2,4% of GDP in 2017, down from 16,6% in 1951 and 4,5% in 1991.7 The value added to GDP by agriculture alone (excluding forestry and fishing) was around R57 billion ($4,5 billion) in 2015.8

  ‘The fact that the sector represents less than 2,5% of the economy does not provide the true picture of the sector’s impact on the greater economy since the sector does not operate in a vacuum – it buys inputs from the manufacturing sector, provides raw materials for manufacturing and purchases a host of services,’ writes Jan Greyling from the Department of Agricultural Economics at the Stellenbosch University (SU), adding that the agricultural and related sectors represent closer to 7% of economic activity.9

  Moreover, the agricultural sector contributes about 12% of South Africa’s total exports, making it an important earner of foreign exchange revenue.10 It should therefore be accepted that the significance of agriculture in the South African economy is certainly far greater than just 2,4%.

  South Africa suffers from extremely high unemployment levels. According to the narrow definition, 26,7% of people in South Africa were unemployed in the first quarter of 2018, while this number is calculated at 36,7% according to the broad definition.11 Statistics South Africa reported in May 2018 that of the 10,3 million persons aged 15-24 years, 32,4% (approximately 3,3 million) were not in employment, education or training – implying that close to one in three young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 were disengaged with the labour market.12

  The consequence of the unemployment crisis has been that political pressure is put on the agricultural sector to create more jobs. This is particularly evident in the National Development Plan (NDP), which outlines a series of proposals to boost the economy in order to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by the year 2030.13 In particular, the NDP calls on the agricultural community to create one million new jobs by 2030.14 Rural communities are also recognised as an ‘economically viable group’ in the National Rural Safety Strategy (NRSS).15

  On the other hand, it is a known fact that employers in the agricultural community (i.e. commercial farmers) have been declining at a rapid pace. As was stated in Chapter 3, commercial farmers have declined from more than 120 000 in the 1980s to somewhere between 30 000 and 35 000 currently. It is also estimated that this number may halve within the next ten years.16 This would imply a decline by roughly 90% over 45 years.

  The decline in the number of commercial farmers should not necessarily be interpreted as bad news for the agricultural economy, but rather as part of a global trend of conglomeration in agriculture. Commercial farmers have increasingly embarked on a process of buying out other farms, resulting in a decline in the number of commercial farmers, but not necessarily a decline in output – hence the rise of the so-called mega farmer.

  Furthermore, the ambitious goal of creating one million jobs in agriculture may also be misdirected. The problem with the NDP is that it aims to create more jobs in a sector where the trend is one of mechanisation and a decline in the number of jobs, explains economist Russell Lamberti. ‘Large farms are increasingly mechanised and the use of technology means that greater output can be achieved with fewer employees. Trying to make more jobs in agriculture could actually be bad for farming and food production by coming at the expense of efficiency, and the cost of making agricultural jobs may cause resources to be direc- ted away from other important sectors, causing job losses elsewhere.’17

  Employment in the agricultural sector has indeed shrunk, falling from nearly 1,2 million in 2001 to around 800 000 in 2016.18 Agriculture employed 16% of the workforce in 1994, but today that is down to 6%.19

  It would, however, be more useful to measure the success of the agricultural sector not by employment, but by output. In this sense, the balance between imports and exports is instructive, as well as comparisons with global peers.

  Figure 7: Employment in agriculture: 2001–201620

  The balance between the exporting and importing of food has been shifting over the years. During the 1970s and 1980s, South Africa exported about three times as much in agricultural products as were imported. This gap has been narrowing and exports are currently about one-and-a-half times the size of imports.21 By 2016, agricultural export earnings amounted to $9,2 billion (R115 billion), while imports of agricultural and food products were $7 billion R87 billion). 22 According to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), the estimated value of imports of agricultural products during 2016 came to approximately R82,4 billion ($6,8 billion) – an increase of 22,5% in one year. On the other hand, the estimated value of exports increased by only 13,7% to about R97,9 billion ($8,2 billion) in 2016. Agricultural output has maintained a slower growth path since the 1980s.

  Two things should be said about this. Firstly that imports and exports are influenced by a variety of factors that are not the focus of this book. Secondly, as Lamberti points out, when the real contribution of agriculture to the GDP of South Africa is compared to other countries, we find that agricultural output in South Africa has grown faster than it has in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Mexico, but slower than Australia and much slower than Chile and Brazil.23 On balance, then, the economic success of the farming community for the past few decades is rather mixed. Through technological adoption, conglomeration and relatively open global markets, South African agriculture has just about managed to remain competitive, despite numerous domestic challenges.

  THE TRIPLE CHALLENGE

  According to Lamberti, there are three major challenges that South African commercial farmers face and that could have a significant impact on the future of agriculture in South Africa. These are macro challenges, property rights and violent crime.24

  Figure 8: Agriculture’s ‘triple challenge’

  Macro challenges include the difficulties of farming in arid and semi-arid regions, droughts and other weather-related challenges, distances to market, capital constraints, currency volatility, onerous labour laws, and macroeconomic stagnation. Macro challenges are partly natural and partly man-made, but they are generally beyond farmers’ control and beyond the purview of agricultural policy per se.

  Property rights particularly refer to land reform and the South African government’s push for expropriation without compensation.25 However, farmers are also at tremendous risk when it comes to property rights to water, as the state regards itself as the sole custodian of water rights.26

  With regard to violent crime, the main crisis is farm attacks. Some macro challenges for farmers could be mitigated b
y better state-economic policy, greater economic freedom and less state corruption and fiscal waste. Various global indices show that greater economic freedom, cleaner governance and more predictable, business-friendly economic regulations tend to lead to lower currency volatility, better functioning capital markets, more cooperative labour relations and better economic growth. Since 2000, South Africa has become less economically free, more corrupt, and less business friendly, leading to wild currency fluctuations, slow economic growth and fiscal mismanagement.

  The most important aspect with regard to property rights is to provide certainty to South African farmers that their constitutionally- recognised property rights are protected and that they can continue improving their farms without fear of expropriation or other forms of predation by the state.

  The reality of farm attacks, combined with police inefficiency and government’s unconcerned attitude, has developed into a major crisis for South African farmers.

  ‘The problem here is the opportunity cost,’ says Lamberti. The situation for farmers should be measured in terms of their ‘next best alternative’ – think of the prospects of the farmer’s hypothetical twin brother who makes a living in a nearby town or city. The prospects of moving to towns or cities, or of emigrating to farm abroad is becoming increasingly attractive for South African farmers. ‘If these three challenges aren’t addressed, it is safe to predict a further rapid decline in the number of commercial farmers,’ says Lamberti. This situation is also discouraging farmers’ children from making a living in agriculture as their parents have done, which diminishes the pool of skilled agricultural human capital.27