National month of protest against farm murders

The civil rights organisation AfriForum has declared November 2015 as a national month of protest against farm murders. Various actions will be launched during November that will focus on increasing international pressure on the South African Government to prioritise farm murders. AfriForum requests the public to show their support for this campaign by visiting the webpage www.stopthemurders.co.za or to SMS their names to 32534.

Ernst Roets, deputy CEO of AfriForum, explained that on 1 December 2015 it would be exactly five years since the gruesome murder of the Potgieter family on their farm close to Lindley in the Free State. Attie Potgieter (40) was stabbed 151 times with garden forks, pangas and other tools, while his wife Wilna (36) and their little daughter Willemien (2) had to look on. Willemien was then hit over the head with a sharp object, shot in the head and dumped in a box in the outbuilding. After Willemien had witnessed the murder of her husband and daughter, she was taken back to the farm house, hit over the head a number of times and then shot in the neck.

“Although Government had regretted the Potgieter murders in the media, it is quite evident that the police does not consider farm murders a priority at all,” Roets said.

“Since then, hundreds of farmers have been killed on their farms, many in the most brutal way imaginable. If Government and the Department of Police simply laugh away the matter, we will make sure that they are embarrassed in the international arena for this.”

In the coming month, AfriForum will undertake the following actions:

1. AfriForum will approach the High Court for an order to compel the South African Police Service (SAPS) to publish their statistics on farm murders and make known their methodology to compile these statistics. This follows after the former National Police Commissioner made reference to farmer murders on two occasions in the past year, but gave conflicting figures.
2. AfriForum has already registered to address the United Nation’s Forum on Minority Issues on farm murders in the last week of November. A report will also be submitted to the UN that specifically focuses on the manner in which victims of farm attacks are discriminated against in the criminal justice system.
3. This report will also be sent to more than 300 international and foreign media correspondents in South Africa.
4. On the day on which the UN will be addressed, the report will also be sent to more than 5 000 foreign media institutions.
5. On 1 December 2015 AfriForum will submit a vote of no confidence in Government’s ability to combat farm attacks to the office of the President.

AfriForum also requests members of the public to add their names to AfriForum’s letter of protest. Leading up to the UN conference, AfriForum will start a comprehensive campaign to raise support for the memorandum.

“The more people who add their names to the list, the stronger our voice will become and the greater our chances of success,” Roets explained.

• AfriForum needs to strengthen their report to the UN with at least 100 000 names from members of the public who support the matter. To show their support, the public can visit stopthemurders.co.za or SMS their name to 32534 for R1.

• AfriForum is to launch a unit soon that’ll focus on the victims of farm attacks and murders.