A weekend on a smallholding or farm in South Africa is when farmers need to have heightened threat awareness‚ as this is when they are most likely to come under attack from brutal criminals. Most at risk are residents in the north of the country.
The farm murder and farm attack statistics for the 2016/2017 financial year were announced today by the AfriForum Research Institute (ANI) in Pretoria.
AfriForum also handed over a petition against farm murders containing 175‚000 names to the Presidency at the Union Buildings today‚ deploring what it perceives as a lackadaisical approach to farmers murders and urging the government to deploy rural safety units.
They were supported by entertainer Steve Hofmeyr‚ who acted in the film “Treurgrond“‚ which dealt with farm murders. He tweeted his support for today’s initiative‚ and shared the research conducted by the institute with his 233‚000 followers.
“The total amount of verified farm attacks is 357 and the amount of farm murders for the 2016/2017 period is a disturbing 74‚” the institute revealed.
Most of the attacks occurred on Saturdays‚ followed by Sundays‚ then Fridays and Thursdays.
Gauteng accounted for 22.8% of attacks‚ followed by Free State 15.7%‚ Mpumalanga 14.8%‚ North West 14.8% and Limpopo 13.4% while KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 10.1%.
Data collated by the institute highlighted the violence that accompanied farm attacks:
- During 112 (31%) of the incidents‚ victims were fired at‚ or there was an active attempt to murder the victim/s.
- In six of the cases it was made public that a woman was raped during the attack. This number can however be higher because the information could be withheld from the public due to the sensitivity of this sort of crime.
- In four cases the victim was abducted during the attack and set free or murdered elsewhere.
- In three cases fires were intentionally started at the main house or elsewhere on the farm in order to lure victims from their home‚ after which the attackers struck.
- Torture took place in 13 incidents.
Afriforum detailed cases of torture which have been in the public domain. These included:
On 10 March 2017‚ Mrs Niccy Simpson (64) from Kalbasfontein in Gauteng was assaulted during a six-hour long attack‚ burnt with an iron and a bag was pulled over her head in an attempt to try to smother her. Thereafter her feet were impaled with an electrical drill and the attackers threatened to cut off her legs with a grinding machine.
In May 2016‚ a 68-year-old man was also cruelly tortured with a towel that was pushed down his throat and a piece of wire was wrapped around the victim’s neck to strangle him. He died during the attack.
In June 2016‚ a couple from Gauteng was burnt with irons during an attack.
Robert Lynn (66) and Sue Howarth (64)‚ both British citizens‚ were attacked on their farm in Dullstroom‚ Mpumalanga on Sunday‚ 19 February 2017 around 2 a.m. Robert had various knife wounds on his back and legs and he was burnt on his feet‚ legs and stomach with a blow torch. The attackers left Robert in a field and Sue was found next to the road where she was still alive‚ with a plastic bag bound over her head. She died from her injuries in the hospital.
Most of the attacks occurred on farms‚ except in Gauteng. “The reason for this could be the high number of plots and smallholdings situated around the cities in this province‚” the institute said.
More than 740 attackers were involved in the 357 incidents‚ with an average of four attackers per incident.
Researchers noted: “It is not known in how many cases attackers were known to the victims‚ due to the increasing use of balaclavas that disguise the identities of the attackers.”
In the 357 attacks‚ there were more than 553 victims involved. The average number of victims per attack is four. The average age of victims is 55 years. In 62% of the incidents‚ victims of the age of 51 and older were attacked.
Commenting on attacks so far in 2017‚ Afriforum said: “If the frequency of farm attacks and farm murders remain the same throughout the calendar year‚ it would seem that the numbers would again increase.”
There have been 113 attacks and 29 farm murders verified for this year alone.
Steve Hofmeyr joins in plea to Zuma to deploy rural safety units to protect farmers
The farm murder and farm attack statistics for the 2016/2017 financial year were announced today by the AfriForum Research Institute (ANI) in Pretoria.
AfriForum also handed over a petition against farm murders containing 175‚000 names to the Presidency at the Union Buildings today‚ deploring what it perceives as a lackadaisical approach to farmers murders and urging the government to deploy rural safety units.
They were supported by entertainer Steve Hofmeyr‚ who acted in the film “Treurgrond“‚ which dealt with farm murders. He tweeted his support for today’s initiative‚ and shared the research conducted by the institute with his 233‚000 followers.
“The total amount of verified farm attacks is 357 and the amount of farm murders for the 2016/2017 period is a disturbing 74‚” the institute revealed.
Most of the attacks occurred on Saturdays‚ followed by Sundays‚ then Fridays and Thursdays.
Gauteng accounted for 22.8% of attacks‚ followed by Free State 15.7%‚ Mpumalanga 14.8%‚ North West 14.8% and Limpopo 13.4% while KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 10.1%.
Data collated by the institute highlighted the violence that accompanied farm attacks:
- During 112 (31%) of the incidents‚ victims were fired at‚ or there was an active attempt to murder the victim/s.
- In six of the cases it was made public that a woman was raped during the attack. This number can however be higher because the information could be withheld from the public due to the sensitivity of this sort of crime.
- In four cases the victim was abducted during the attack and set free or murdered elsewhere.
- In three cases fires were intentionally started at the main house or elsewhere on the farm in order to lure victims from their home‚ after which the attackers struck.
- Torture took place in 13 incidents.
Afriforum detailed cases of torture which have been in the public domain. These included:
On 10 March 2017‚ Mrs Niccy Simpson (64) from Kalbasfontein in Gauteng was assaulted during a six-hour long attack‚ burnt with an iron and a bag was pulled over her head in an attempt to try to smother her. Thereafter her feet were impaled with an electrical drill and the attackers threatened to cut off her legs with a grinding machine.
In May 2016‚ a 68-year-old man was also cruelly tortured with a towel that was pushed down his throat and a piece of wire was wrapped around the victim’s neck to strangle him. He died during the attack.
In June 2016‚ a couple from Gauteng was burnt with irons during an attack.
Robert Lynn (66) and Sue Howarth (64)‚ both British citizens‚ were attacked on their farm in Dullstroom‚ Mpumalanga on Sunday‚ 19 February 2017 around 2 a.m. Robert had various knife wounds on his back and legs and he was burnt on his feet‚ legs and stomach with a blow torch. The attackers left Robert in a field and Sue was found next to the road where she was still alive‚ with a plastic bag bound over her head. She died from her injuries in the hospital.
Most of the attacks occurred on farms‚ except in Gauteng. “The reason for this could be the high number of plots and smallholdings situated around the cities in this province‚” the institute said.
More than 740 attackers were involved in the 357 incidents‚ with an average of four attackers per incident.
Researchers noted: “It is not known in how many cases attackers were known to the victims‚ due to the increasing use of balaclavas that disguise the identities of the attackers.”
In the 357 attacks‚ there were more than 553 victims involved. The average number of victims per attack is four. The average age of victims is 55 years. In 62% of the incidents‚ victims of the age of 51 and older were attacked.
Commenting on attacks so far in 2017‚ Afriforum said: “If the frequency of farm attacks and farm murders remain the same throughout the calendar year‚ it would seem that the numbers would again increase.”
There have been 113 attacks and 29 farm murders verified for this year alone.
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