South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken out against the brutal nature of farm murders, two weeks after 22-year-old Free State farm manager Brendin Horner was killed.
Brendin Horner: Clashes in Senekal expected this week
The discovery of Horner’s lifeless body, bound to a pole in an open field in Paul Roux and badly battered, sent shockwaves throughout the country.
Scores of farmers from all corners of the country gathered outside Senekal Magistrate’s Court with the intention of taking the law into their own hands.
Clashes with Free State police prevented what was threatening to be a bloody event. The two suspects accused of murdering Horner are expected back in court on Thursday 16 October 2020 and warnings of a second riot have already been issued.
Ministers warn against acts of vigilantism
Police Minister Bheki Cele condemned last week’s violence, calling into question the logic behind destroying the same state resources that are being used to prosecute the alleged killers of the 22-year-old farm manager.
“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.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola echoed the words of the police minister, calling for law and order in the picketing that’s expected outside the magistrate’s court on Thursday.
Cyril Ramaphosa addresses farm murders
President Ramaphosa, in a more diplomatic tone, condemned the vigilantism that was witnessed in the court, where scores of rioters stormed into the premises, demanding the release of the two suspects into their custody.
“While anger at the senseless killing is justifiable, vigilantism is not. The brutal killing of a young white farmer, allegedly by black men, followed by the spectacle of white farmers storming a police station to get to a black suspect has opened up wounds that go back many generations,” he carefully noted.
The president shot down the narrative about farm murders being this grandiose plan by blacks to “drive white farmers off their land.”
“Numerous studies show that crime in farming communities is largely opportunistic. Rural communities are more vulnerable because of their isolated location and, as a result, the relative lack of access to security and other services. Contrary to the irresponsible claims of some lobby groups, killings on farms are not ethnic cleansing. They are not genocidal. They are acts of criminality and must be treated as such,” the president added.
Ramaphosa has implored on South Africans to practice their right to protest but not to the detriment of others.
“We must not be blinded by our own prejudices to the suffering and pain of others. It should not matter to us if the victim of violent crime is black or white,” he concluded.
