Limpopo has most farm attacks and murders in SA

LIMPOPO is now the province where the most farm attacks and murders occur‚ said agriculture union Tau-SA and activist group AfriForum.

Gauteng previously had the number one spot.

Releasing data on farm attacks for the first half of the year‚ the groups recorded 27 murders and 116 attacks.

Five people were killed in 25 incidents in Limpopo in the past six months.

In KwaZulu-Natal‚ five people were killed in 11 attacks‚ while in Gauteng there were four deaths resulting from 14 attacks. The Free State had 19 attacks in which four people died.

A total of 1 747 farm murders and 3 542 attacks took place between 1990 and the middle of this year‚ AfriForum and Tau-SA said.

Of the murder victims‚ 1 133 were farmers‚ 465 direct family members‚ 130 farmworkers and 19 visitors.

General Chris van Zyl‚ assistant head manager of Tau-SA‚ said farm attacks were becoming increasingly brutal as well as fatal.

Ernst Roets‚ deputy chief executive of AfriForum‚ said government should declare farm murders a priority crime. Roets and Lorraine Claasen‚ a researcher and criminologist at AfriForum‚ are leaving for Australia today to address the World Society of Victimology Congress.

“We hope to spread awareness regarding farm attacks‚” Claasen said.

“The SA government must be forced to take action‚” said Henk van de Graaf‚ assistant head manager of Tau-SA.

Tau-SA and AfriForum said they were planning projects this year such as neighbourhood watches‚ training of farm guards and “expansion of tracking abilities”. — RDM News Wire