Kill the Boer

by Ernst Roets

  CHAPTER 18

  A cold shoulder

  ‘Listen to me when I hand you this volume. I’m not giving it to you because I am white. I’m giving it to you because I am a South African and because you have a responsibility to protect all South Africans – including farmers.’

  Those were the words of Belinda van Noord on 17 January 2013 to Colonel Simon Chabangu, Secretary to the Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa. In her hands she held a red folder. It was filled with letters, written by victims of farm attacks. During the last month, Belinda’s family had become part of the farm murder statistics, not once, but twice.

  On 13 December 2012, her father and brother – both called Gerhardus Rudolph – were finishing off the day’s work in their farm butchery near Brits in the North West, in an area ironically called Geluk (English: Happiness). But Geluk has been all but happy. During one of my visits there, one of the local people took me on a tour through the local cemetery, showing me all the graves of farmers and their loved ones who had been murdered in recent years and telling me their stories.

  It was shortly before 19:00 and Gerhardus Senior (65) and Gerhardus Junior (31) and the domestic worker, Rebecca, were about to leave the butchery when four men with assault rifles stormed the shop. Belinda’s younger brother, De Beer (14), and her nephew, Rudolph (13), were in the office next door when they heard the first shot. Rudolph ran to the butchery where his uncle and grandfather had been, but his cousin grabbed him, saying ‘No! Don’t go. They will kill us!’ Through a little window the two boys witnessed the entire event unfolding in the butchery. Both men, father and son, were shot on the scene. Upon the departure of the men, the two boys ran to the shop. However, it was too late for Gerhard Senior. He was already dead. De Beer ran out, screaming: ‘Please someone help us; they killed my father!’

  Gerhard Junior and Rebecca were rushed to the hospital. They survived. During the two weeks that followed, Gerhard Junior’s father was buried while his wife and children sat at his bedside as he fought for his life. Three days after Christmas, Gerhard Junior passed away.1

  In the early days of January 2013, I received an email from Belinda, explaining how her father and brother had been shot dead and that she could not sit around doing nothing, knowing well that theirs was not the only tragic story of farmers being murdered. So she became an activist.

  At the insistence of the Van Noord family, I invited a Danish film crew to join me in attending Gerhard Junior’s funeral. At the funeral we saw his wife, squatting down next to her husband’s coffin, clutching her children, crying – heartbroken about the loss of her husband, trying to convince her children that everything was going to be all right.

  But none of this was known to the Minister of Police prior to 17 January. As a matter of fact, the absurdly inattentive manner in which the murders of the Rudolphs were investigated by the local police department was another cause of great concern.

  In her letter, Belinda wrote that their family had been robbed of their stalwarts and that they struggled to cope with the trauma. She concluded her letter:

  South African citizens are no longer safe because violent criminals roam our streets, cities, towns and rural areas. Hardly a day goes by without there being news reports of people being killed in their homes, women being brutally assaulted and raped and, in some cases, of children who have to look on in horror how their parents are being killed.

  If government can prioritise ‘Save the Rhino’, why can’t government protect the citizens of South Africa? Is a rhino worth more than the life of a human?

  In the Brits (Geluk) region the farming community has decreased from an original 260 farmers to only nine at present. Of the original number, eleven have been killed, while the others have sold their farms to the state (land claims). The farm workers in the Brits/Geluk region say that they don’t leave their homes after dark, because they fear for their lives. Yet our Police Commissioner still insists that farm killings are not a problem in South Africa.

  When will our government take action against these criminals? No one is safe anymore. We live in fear!

  Yours faithfully,

  Mrs Belinda van Noord

  (Bereaved daughter of Gerhardus Rudolph)2

  But the red folder in Belinda’s hands contained more than just her own story. It was a collection of 100 letters from families who had either survived such attacks, or had lost loved ones as a result of such attacks. AfriForum had been collecting the letters with the intention of presenting them to the Minister, but Belinda’s insistence on becoming involved led us to agree that she should be the one handing over the letters to the Minister. Belinda’s letter was not uniquely tragic. The file included letters from wives who had seen their husbands murdered in front of their families, families having to come to grips with torture that their loved ones had had to endure, families who had to look for a loved one for days, only to find that he had been buried near the farm dam by his murderers. The constant theme in virtually all these letters was an outcry about the negligence of their local police departments and the careless attitude of the Department of Police and the SAPS.

  Belinda performed like an experienced activist. As the Minister’s secretary came through the door, she greeted him with a gracious smile, thanking him for his time in coming down from his office on the upper floors to meet with us, waiting in the reception area. As the Colonel took the red folder from Belinda’s hands, her grip on her side of the folder suddenly tightened. It was in that awkward moment, with the Colonel holding the folder at one end, Belinda clutching the folder at the other end and a few media microphones squeezed in between the two of them, that Belinda uttered the words at the beginning of this chapter.

  Belinda’s reference to the colour of her skin was not the result of her being a race-conscious person, but in frustrated reaction to a statement by the Minister’s spokesperson, Zweli Mnisi, just weeks before this event – a statement that I will mention later on in this chapter.

  Little did we or Belinda know that several minutes before our arrival there, Mnisi had issued a press statement from the office of the Minister, a few storeys above our heads, stating that they did not take Belinda’s attempt to communicate with the minister seriously. Under the heading ‘Afriforum’s (sic) Publicity Stunt Compromises the Fight Against Crime,’ Mnisi’s press statement read as follows:

  The Ministry of Police has noted a very disturbing trend by Afriforum (sic) over the past few years, which has the potential to compromise our efforts in the fight against crime.3

  At the time when the statement was issued, Mnisi was very well aware of the events that were about to unfold in their reception area. In fact, I personally corresponded with him about the matter prior to our arrival. But even before he had received the letters, he had described the presentation as a mere ‘publicity stunt’ that could not be taken seriously.

  In the statement, Mnisi also suggested that AfriForum should not be taken seriously. ‘Yesterday, a similar stunt’ was pulled by Afriforum (sic),’ wrote Mnisi. The ‘similar stunt’ that Mnisi referred to was an alleged gathering two years before where AfriForum was said to have informed the media that the Minister would be there, while the Minister had had no notice of this. To this day we could not determine what gathering he was talking about, as AfriForum had never invited the media to any gathering with the Minister at that time. Our only conclusion was that Mnisi had either made up the story, or had AfriForum confused with another organisation.

  In the statement Mnisi wrote:

  The office of the Minister received several queries from the media about a meeting with the Afriforum (sic) which, apparently, is scheduled for today. Again, no official meeting was confirmed with Afriforum (sic) and we accordingly advised members of the media, of this unfortunate publicity stunt. Most media expressed shock, to say the least.

  Below is an email extract, sent to the Minister’s spokesperson by the Deputy CEO of Afriforum (sic), Ernst Roets, long after the media had begun enqui
ring about this purported meeting. It read, quote: ‘This e-mail serves to inform you that a lady whose brother and father was murdered on a farm during the holidays will be delivering a bundle of letters, addressed to the minister at your office tomorrow. AfriForum will assist her and will also present the memorandum on farm attacks that you refused to accept on 1 December 2012. We are planning to arrive at your offices at about 12:00. I should mention that members of the media might be present. We are not expecting a meeting with the minister or yourself tomorrow, but it will be appreciated if you or another representative of the minister were to accept the letter, instead of leaving us to drop it off at the reception.4

  Mnisi then went on about how the Department of Police took crime seriously and how they engaged with stakeholders other than AfriForum, that were more respectful and professional (presumably more agreeable) and he hinted that these stakeholders were happy with the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) attitude regarding farm murders.

  He then cited the rural safety plan as a solution to the problem and concluded:

  We therefore strongly condemn such actions and urge Afriforum (sic) to stop misleading the public, compromising government’s efforts on crime and begin to contribute to the fight against crime through intellectual, society-building initiatives and developmental safety agendas.

  The continuous mocking, grandstanding and publicity-seeking stunts at the expense of real crime victims do not serve any good cause. We urge Afriforum (sic) to refrain from their divisive approach of racialising crime. Crime affects us all, black or white, young or old, rich or poor. What concerns us is to fight crime, fight it smartly and toughly.5

  This statement had been issued in the year that marked a decade of the effective deprioritisation of farm attacks by the South African government. The statement by the Ministry of Police was not indicative of a new attitude towards farm murders, but rather the unveiling of a sentiment that had been brewing in government circles for years. And I was unfortunate enough to experience it firsthand.

  But the case of Belinda van Noord was not unique. In fact, the South African government has repeatedly scorned the victims of farm attacks’ plight for the prioritising of these attacks.

  In October 2017, the then Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula was asked in Parliament by Pieter Groenewald, leader of the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), what steps were being taken by the SAPS to increase safety in rural areas in the light of the scourge of farm attacks that had occurred in that year. The Minister responded that the SAPS would focus on farm attacks, but that they did not intend establishing specialist units for rural safety that would have a focus on incidents on farms.6

  When asked for comment about the fact that the ratio at which farmers were being murdered was considerably higher than the South African average murder rate, Vuyo Mhaga, Spokesperson for the Minister of Police, responded by saying: ‘Let’s not make race part of the picture. It’s about murders on South Africans.’7 Should farm murders be regarded as a priority? he was asked. ‘Every murder should be a priority. Surely you cannot provide priority protection to someone who provides food to South Africa above others?’8

  THE MTHETHWA DOCKET

  Since the launch of AfriForum’s campaign against farm murders in 2012, within a time frame of about one year, AfriForum’s call for the prioritising of farm murders was scorned on at least ten different occasions by the then Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, or his representatives. Some of the noteworthy examples are mentioned.

  On 25 May 2012, AfriForum hosted a wreath-laying ceremony in front of the Minister’s office with victims whose loved ones had been murdered. A total of 1 445 roses were laid down on that day, representing the total number of murdered farmers, according to the first edition of the book Land of Sorrow.9 On this day, a memorandum was presented to Colonel Simon Chabangu, Mthethwa’s personal secretary.10 In the memorandum, it was requested that farm murders be declared a priority crime and that specialist units for rural safety be established.11 Shortly thereafter, AfriForum received a confirmation of receipt. No further correspondence was received and no further feedback was provided by the Minister.

  On 19 June 2012, a protest march against violent crime was organised at the insistence of the Afrikaans singers Bobby and Karlien van Jaarsveld. A wide variety of South African actors, singers and other artists participated. The crowd of more than a thousand people gathered at the Pretoria Art Museum and proceeded towards the Union Buildings, where the office of the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, was situated.12 A memorandum was presented to a representative of the President. The memorandum referred to the extreme levels of violent crime in South Africa and the President’s urgent intervention was requested. The memorandum particularly asked for the prioritising of farm murders, among other requests. The President was also asked to respond before 31 July 2012.13 A confirmation of receipt was issued by the President’s office shortly thereafter, as well as was a short letter indicating that the matter had been referred to the Minister of Police.14 To eliminate any uncertainty, the memorandum was then also sent to Mthethwa’s office by AfriForum. Mthethwa, however, ignored the referral to him by the President and never responded to the memorandum.

  On 2 July 2012, AfriForum wrote to the newly-appointed National Police Commissioner, Riah Phiyega. Phiyega was congratulated on her appointment and AfriForm urgently requested the Commissioner, in collaboration with the Minister of Police, to take deliberate steps to address the crisis of farm murders. Mtethwa’s office was also informed of the letter in which he was mentioned.15 Mthethwa did not respond to our request. Phiyega responded about four months later, referring us to the National Rural Safety Strategy (NRSS).16

  On 4 October 2012, AfriForum wrote to a variety of international organisations regarding the reality of farm murders in South Africa. A copy of the letter was also delivered to a representative of the President by hand. The letter provided a brief summary of a list of facts regarding farm attacks. The President’s intervention was requested.17 No response was provided by the President, nor by the Minister of Police, to whom a copy was also sent.

  A follow-up protest march on the one initiated by Bobby and Karlien van Jaarsveld on 19 June 2012 was organised to take place on 21 November that year. This one, however, was held in Cape Town. The memorandum that was presented to the President in June was also presented to the Speaker of Parliament, Max Sisulu.18 Confirmation of receipt was provided, but no further response or action followed.

  On 1 December 2012, a national day of protest against farm murders was declared by AfriForum. In a coordinated effort, victims of farm attacks, assisted by AfriForum’s local structures, presented a memorandum in which the prioritisation of farm attacks was requested to more than one hundred local police stations across South Africa on 30 November 2012.19 A copy was also sent to the office of the Minister of Police, who never replied.

  Less than two weeks thereafter, Belinda van Noord’s brother and father were murdered in their farm butchery near the town of Brits, about 45 minutes’ drive from the Minister’s office. Her attempt to raise the issue with the Minister and the Minister’s response have already been stated at the beginning of this chapter.

  Exactly one year after the initial march by more than a thousand people to the President’s office, on 19 June 2013, AfriForum released a report in which gross police negligence in dealing with farm attacks was revealed. The report was released during a conference on farm attacks.20 A copy was also sent to the Minister’s office. The Minister attacked the report publicly on the very same day, presumably before he had read it, stating that the report was racist and that he did not care much for its content.21

  SHOVED OUT OF THE SAPS HEADQUARTERS

  In July 2015, when AfriForum assisted Bernadette Hall to present a memorandum calling for the prioritising of farm murders to the Minister of Police, Hall and members of AfriForum were aggressively shoved out of the SAPS headquarters by members of the SAPS. Hall’s husband, David Hall, had b
een murdered on their farm in 2012. The memorandum contained a motion of no confidence in the Department of Police and the SAPS.22 The police refused to accept Hall’s memorandum.

  NOT RESPONDING TO LETTERS

  In March 2018, AfriForum directed an urgent letter to the newly appointed Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, requesting a meeting to discuss a strategy to combat farm attacks. ‘Cele didn’t even acknowledge receipt of this letter.23 Cele’s refusal to meet with civil society about farm murders is however not isolated, but part of a decade-long trend. His predecessor, Fikile Mbalula also refused,24 as did Mbalula’s predecessor, Nkosinathi Nhleko,25 as well as Nhleko’s predecessor, Nathi Mthethwa.26

  POLITICAL BLACKMAIL

  Perhaps the best way to illustrate the frustration of those campaigning for the prioritising of farm attacks is to tell the tale of AfriForum’s protest march for the prioritising of farm murders in December 2012.

  On 23 October 2012, I called Mnisi, the spokesperson for the Minister of Police, to inform him about a march for the prioritising of farm attacks that was scheduled to take place on 1 December 2012. I requested a confirmation letter that the Minister or one of his representatives would accept our memorandum on the said day. Mnisi responded by stating that they were not comfortable with our plans. He suggested arranging a meeting between AfriForum and the Minister of Police, on the condition that we discontinue our planned march. He used the words: ‘We don’t want AfriForum creating headlines on this matter.’ I agreed to Mnisi’s proposal to meet with the Minister and added that we would discontinue the march if the Minister were to agree that farm murders should be treated as a priority crime. Mnisi also indicated that he was not aware of any previous correspondence from AfriForum on this matter.

  I followed up on our telephone conversation by sending a formal letter to Mnisi, explaining our concerns about farm attacks, what we required of the Department of Police, our plans for 1 December and attachments of previous correspondence between AfriForum and the office of the Minister of Police.27 Mnisi did not respond to the letter and did not provide a confirmation of receipt thereof.