Report on Parliamentary Petition to Investigate Farm Murders Manipulated to Point the Finger at Farmers

The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) did not vote in favour of a joint report by the parliamentary Portfolio Committees on Police and Agriculture on the situation surrounding farm attacks today.

The report was intended to address a petition calling for Parliament to investigate farm murders and attacks on the farming community.

The few positive aspects of the report are overshadowed by several misconceptions and flawed assumptions; it even accuses farmers in general of treating their workers so poorly that it amounts to human rights violations.

In this regard, the Committees digressed significantly from the objective of the petition by PPS STOP Farm Killings (NPC) and Agri-Alert SA, which requested the National Assembly (NA) to investigate the ongoing attacks on farming communities.

This investigation was meant to focus “on concerns about rural safety, farm murders, and the impact of this crime on food security and the agricultural economy”.

In contrast, the Committees decided to recommend targeted oversight visits to agricultural areas, focusing on the “nature and extent of violence against farmworkers”.

This includes “alleged human rights violations such as intimidation, humiliation and abuse by farm owners”.

Another flaw is that despite the report’s acknowledgement that the “unique nature” of farm murders should be recognised – as they are usually characterised by “extreme brutality and excessive, extreme violence,” and are often premeditated – farm murders are neither considered nor declared a priority crime. Moreover, the Committees do not view farm murders as a special crime that should be treated as such.

Unfortunately, the report makes no mention of inflammatory statements such as “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer,” let alone condemns them.

The time has come to consider the opinions and feelings of those on the receiving end of these threats, and stop hiding behind the ideological fabrications of those inciting violence.

The Freedom Front Plus was surprised and alarmed that the DA voted in favour of this report in Parliament.

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