THEME 5.6
ATTACKS ON FARMS AND SMALLHOLDINGS
INTRODUCTION:
Farm attacks in South Africa are not merely attacks on farmers or on the
farming community.
Farm attacks are an attack on South Africa and its entire population including an
attack on food security, investment potential and an attack on the right to life.
The chances of a farmer being murdered on a farm in South Africa are four to
six times higher than the average murder risk rate for the general population.
The phenomenon of farm murders is pervasive, complex and multifaceted.
Farm attacks are one of the most frustrating types of crime confronting the
government, police, protection units and organised agriculture.
Attacks on farmers and smallholdings not only harm race relations, but also
have a negative effect on the economy of the country
DEFINITION OF CONCEPT
The concept ‘‘farm attack’’ or ‘‘smallholding attack’’ is a broad, comprehensive
concept that include various actions intended to inflict material damage or
physical injury to the owner or occupier of the farm or smallholding and his or
her dependents, workers, property and possessions.
The different crimes that are normally committed during a farm attack include
assault, robbery, rape and murder.
The South African Police Service’s (SAPS’s) National Operational Coordinating
Committee (NOCOC) define farm attacks as “acts aimed at the person of
residents, workers and visitors to farms and smallholdings, whether with the
intent to murder, rape, rob or inflict bodily harm”
All actions aimed at disrupting farming activities – whether for motives related
to ideology, labour disputes, land issues, revenge, grievances, racist concerns
or intimidation – should be included in the definition of the concept of farm
attacks
A farm attack therefore refers to all criminally motivated attacks on the
farming community in South Africa.
OCCURRENCE AND SCALE OF ATTACKS ON FARMS AND
SMALLHOLDINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Interested parties in the farming and security communities agree that statistics
on farm murders are often outdated, incomplete and unreliable.
One of the biggest problems of the South African crime administration system is
that it does not make provision for farm attacks as a separate category of crime.
Various crimes can take place during attacks on farms and smallholdings, and it
is necessary to obtain more particulars by means of research (including
questionnaires).
According to Professor Christiaan Bezuidenhout, professor of Criminology at the
University of Pretoria, existing data on farm murders and attacks are outdated,
cover different time periods and fail to give a detailed breakdown of who, within
farming communities, is under attack.
Agriculture South Africa (AgriSA) started to collect statistics on farm attacks
early in 1991.
, AgriSA represents farmers of all gender and colour is South Africa.
Some of AgriSA’s work includes
o farm safety,
o trade negotiations,
o law and order and
o provision of statistical information.
AgriSA maintains proper communication with its members and affected
communities
In February 2003 former President Thabo Mbeki announced the closing down of
the commandos, who were the cornerstone of the Rural Safety Strategy (RSS) in
South Africa.
The commandos were tasked with assisting the police with safety and security
in the rural areas.
They were often local farmers who may or may not have been former members
of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and they were issued with
state weapons.
These commandos were often the first to receive a call for assistance from a
farmer who was under attack, since farms are generally far away from police
stations.
Many farmers in the rural areas were linked to each other by means of a military
area radio network known as the marnet system.
The commandos would call the SAPS and inform them that a crime was being
committed.
The commandos would set up roadblocks and start to search for the suspects
In 2000, former President Mbeki announced that the SAPS would replace the
commandos with an alternative system consisting of police reservists, crime
combating units and sector policing.
In 2011 the new RSS was adopted - Focusing more on rural security in general.
Which means that the government no longer regard security on farms a priority
Statistical review of murders and attacks on farms and
smallholdings (take note)
The study conducted by publishing company Kraal Uitgewers, on which the book
Treurgrond: Die realiteit van plaasaanvalle 1990–2012 was based, found that
Gauteng is the most dangerous province in the country in terms of farm attacks
Nearly 20% (about 663) of the 3 319 farm attacks recorded in the country
between 1990 and 2012 occurred in Gauteng
In the rest of the country, 15,3% of attacks happened in Mpumalanga, 15,2% in
the North West and 12,7% in Limpopo Province.
The Free State accounted for 11,8%, KwaZulu-Natal for 11,5%, the Eastern Cape
for 7% and the Western Cape for 4,7% of the attacks.
The Northern Cape was the safest province, with only 1,6% of the farm attacks
happening in the province
Extreme violence for example assault is a feature of farm attacks and
this brutality is especially disturbing.
Another worrying feature is the increase in property crime and armed
robberies on farms, which result in great financial losses for farmers
for example theft of equipment during a farm attack
ATTACKS ON FARMS AND SMALLHOLDINGS
INTRODUCTION:
Farm attacks in South Africa are not merely attacks on farmers or on the
farming community.
Farm attacks are an attack on South Africa and its entire population including an
attack on food security, investment potential and an attack on the right to life.
The chances of a farmer being murdered on a farm in South Africa are four to
six times higher than the average murder risk rate for the general population.
The phenomenon of farm murders is pervasive, complex and multifaceted.
Farm attacks are one of the most frustrating types of crime confronting the
government, police, protection units and organised agriculture.
Attacks on farmers and smallholdings not only harm race relations, but also
have a negative effect on the economy of the country
DEFINITION OF CONCEPT
The concept ‘‘farm attack’’ or ‘‘smallholding attack’’ is a broad, comprehensive
concept that include various actions intended to inflict material damage or
physical injury to the owner or occupier of the farm or smallholding and his or
her dependents, workers, property and possessions.
The different crimes that are normally committed during a farm attack include
assault, robbery, rape and murder.
The South African Police Service’s (SAPS’s) National Operational Coordinating
Committee (NOCOC) define farm attacks as “acts aimed at the person of
residents, workers and visitors to farms and smallholdings, whether with the
intent to murder, rape, rob or inflict bodily harm”
All actions aimed at disrupting farming activities – whether for motives related
to ideology, labour disputes, land issues, revenge, grievances, racist concerns
or intimidation – should be included in the definition of the concept of farm
attacks
A farm attack therefore refers to all criminally motivated attacks on the
farming community in South Africa.
OCCURRENCE AND SCALE OF ATTACKS ON FARMS AND
SMALLHOLDINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Interested parties in the farming and security communities agree that statistics
on farm murders are often outdated, incomplete and unreliable.
One of the biggest problems of the South African crime administration system is
that it does not make provision for farm attacks as a separate category of crime.
Various crimes can take place during attacks on farms and smallholdings, and it
is necessary to obtain more particulars by means of research (including
questionnaires).
According to Professor Christiaan Bezuidenhout, professor of Criminology at the
University of Pretoria, existing data on farm murders and attacks are outdated,
cover different time periods and fail to give a detailed breakdown of who, within
farming communities, is under attack.
Agriculture South Africa (AgriSA) started to collect statistics on farm attacks
early in 1991.
, AgriSA represents farmers of all gender and colour is South Africa.
Some of AgriSA’s work includes
o farm safety,
o trade negotiations,
o law and order and
o provision of statistical information.
AgriSA maintains proper communication with its members and affected
communities
In February 2003 former President Thabo Mbeki announced the closing down of
the commandos, who were the cornerstone of the Rural Safety Strategy (RSS) in
South Africa.
The commandos were tasked with assisting the police with safety and security
in the rural areas.
They were often local farmers who may or may not have been former members
of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and they were issued with
state weapons.
These commandos were often the first to receive a call for assistance from a
farmer who was under attack, since farms are generally far away from police
stations.
Many farmers in the rural areas were linked to each other by means of a military
area radio network known as the marnet system.
The commandos would call the SAPS and inform them that a crime was being
committed.
The commandos would set up roadblocks and start to search for the suspects
In 2000, former President Mbeki announced that the SAPS would replace the
commandos with an alternative system consisting of police reservists, crime
combating units and sector policing.
In 2011 the new RSS was adopted - Focusing more on rural security in general.
Which means that the government no longer regard security on farms a priority
Statistical review of murders and attacks on farms and
smallholdings (take note)
The study conducted by publishing company Kraal Uitgewers, on which the book
Treurgrond: Die realiteit van plaasaanvalle 1990–2012 was based, found that
Gauteng is the most dangerous province in the country in terms of farm attacks
Nearly 20% (about 663) of the 3 319 farm attacks recorded in the country
between 1990 and 2012 occurred in Gauteng
In the rest of the country, 15,3% of attacks happened in Mpumalanga, 15,2% in
the North West and 12,7% in Limpopo Province.
The Free State accounted for 11,8%, KwaZulu-Natal for 11,5%, the Eastern Cape
for 7% and the Western Cape for 4,7% of the attacks.
The Northern Cape was the safest province, with only 1,6% of the farm attacks
happening in the province
Extreme violence for example assault is a feature of farm attacks and
this brutality is especially disturbing.
Another worrying feature is the increase in property crime and armed
robberies on farms, which result in great financial losses for farmers
for example theft of equipment during a farm attack
