Police Minister Bheki Cele, it seems, has not empathised with the rage of the angry farmers who stormed into Senekal Magistrate’s Court and vandalised property, including the torching of a SAPS van.
SA police minister reacts to angry farmers riots in Senekal
The scene was chaotic outside the court in Free State, where two suspects were due to appear for the brutal and inhumane murder of a 22-year-old farm manager Brendin Horner from Paul Roux.
After a brief tussle with the large crowd of rioters, members of SAPS’ public order unit managed to contain the violence and secure a safe parameter around the court.
News of the riots reached police minister Cele and he slammed the lawlessness that took place at Senekal Magistrate’s Court.
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“While we all condemn the gruesome killing of this young man in Paul Roux, absolutely no one has the right to take the law into their own hands – no matter what the situation is. This type of lawlessness can’t be justified nor taken lightly,” Cele charged.
AfriForum warns this is far from over
Leader of renowned lobby group AfriForum, Ernst Roets, also chimed in amid the riots. Roets defended the actions of the angry farmers, warning that this was far from over.
“The fury that the people expressed here today is the consequence of the cruelty of a problem that simply persists, coupled with government’s lackadaisical attitude towards farm murders,” he said.
Cele disagreed vehemently to this attitude.
“There is no logic when these protestors burn a police van, which is the same resource that is meant to assist them. It is also baffling why the anger of this community is being directed towards the police, when arrests have been made by the police and the suspects are before the courts,” he said.
While there were reports of a second wave of riots, no such activity was witnessed on Wednesday morning, at the time this article was published.
