SA’s #Black Monday plea

“DON’T kill feeds you.”

That was the plea from more than 300 KwaZulu-Natal farmers and workers‚ who joined the nationwide #BlackMonday campaign in protest against farm attacks.

Combine harvesters‚ tractors and bakkies – some displaying signs saying: “Stop farm murders” – caused a traffic jam along the N3 near Bergville and Estcourt in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands yesterday morning.

In Mpumalanga, three people were injured, two seriously, in a 13-vehicle collision when a truck ploughed into their vehicles on the N4 5km outside Middleburg during the hand that a #BlackMonday protest.

The accident occurred at 10.40am as thousands across the country took to the highways and cities to protest.

● Adding to the anger, came news of the latest killing. Yesterday farmer, Bokkie Potgieter, was killed near Vryheid in KwaZuluNatal. Vegetable farmer‚ Potgieter‚ believed to be 70, was found hacked to death in his bakkie near his farm.

In Pretoria, protester Mariandra Heunis, told in an open letter how she was left widowed with four children after her husband Johann was shot six times by robbers on their smallholding outside the city in October motorcade last year.

She said: “He was our breadwinner‚ he was our everything and they destroyed that for us. Our lives came to a halt‚ a shocking halt.”

In KwaZulu-Natal, farmers‚ wearing black and hailing from the areas around Bergville‚ Estcourt‚ Himeville‚ Colenso and Ladysmith‚ drove in convoy along the R74 and onto the N3 toward Johannesburg.

Arnold Fortmann‚ who is part of the security portfolio of the Escourt Farmers Association‚ said their mission was “to create awareness and stand against the murdering of innocent farmers and farm-dwellers in South Africa. — DDC