2005 Volume 2
Farm Murders
by TAU SA
Farmers have taken to providing their own protection. Over the past ten years, more than 1 600 farmers have been murdered, and there have been more than 11 000 farm attacks. (It is interesting to note that only 32 white farmers were killed in Kenya’s Mau Mau 1950’s emergency, with so much publicity given to these farmers’ deaths throughout the world. Movies and television programmes were made, and many books were written about this crisis period in African history).
Lately, Stats South Africa disclosed that SA’s commercial farmers suffered losses of R1,2 billion through crime in the year ending February 2002. Stock theft amounted to R484 million, the pilfering and stealing of crops amounted to R444 million, burglary R100 million, and the stealing of tools R205 million. Cattle, sheep and goats were stolen to the tune of R331 million in the first 11 months of 2004.
Significantly, the Stats report also revealed that the number of commercial farmers has decreased from 58,000 in 1993 to less than 46,000 in 2002.
Commandos have been the linch pin of rural crime prevention for more than 200 years. Bloemfontein City Commando, the Free State’s oldest commando unit, was formed in 1848, so the government’s nonsensical explanation for closing down the commandos because of the role they played in the apartheid era is clearly a cover-up for something more sinister. One can only conclude that the ANC government wishes to expose SA’s farmers to more crime, more theft, more harassment and more murders so they will be driven from their farms.
What happens to South Africa’s food production seems not to be even considered by the ideologists within the ruling party. When the National House of Traditional Leaders (NHTL) of South Africa say that the agrarian reform (sic) programme of Zimbabwe “has benefited the majority of that country’s previously-marginalised black population”, then those who know about the national suicide of Zimbabwe will know what we are facing in South Africa.
THE SA POLICE SERVICE
The capability of the SA Police Service (SAPS) to take over the role of the commandos is limited - many of them are unable to run a local charge office. Forty thousand of SA’s police are illiterate, while racial quotas are ruining a once efficient force.
During a Parliamentary portfolio committee on Safety and Security meeting in Cape Town recently, it was announced that the SAPS would continue to follow a “national equity” plan. Provinces are being given instructions that promotions must be based on “racial demographics”. Thus people with years of experience and capabilities are being overlooked because of race. It has been reliably learned that only four white SAPS members were promoted at the beginning of March in the Pretoria police area.
Thus service delivery is affected, with low morale and a high attrition rate becoming factors affecting the capacity of the SAPS.
Then there are the shortages, the result of government mismanagement and incompetence. The service is top heavy with administrative (sic) staff. Nearly 32% of SAPS members in the Pretoria area are doing administration, with detectives having an impossible annual case load of around one hundred dockets per person.
In answer to a parliamentary question, the Minister of Safety and Security reported at the beginning of March that there are plenty of radios, but some stations do not have enough while others have too many. There is a shortage of 1168 bullet-resistant vests (36% of North Rand police officers do not have these vests) and there is a shortage of 110 policing vehicles in the Pretoria area alone.
Then there are the corrupt police, the bogus police and the criminal police. On 13 March, men dressed in police uniforms caused havoc on the R59 highway near Johannesburg - these “police officers” attacked and terrorised several motorists. Large rocks and bricks were thrown at cars, destroying windscreens and injuring drivers.
Were these men policemen, and if not, from where did they obtain their uniforms?
The Institute for Security Studies reported that in 2002 already, there were five and a half times more inspectors than constables. The force is presently more than 25% understaffed. Children have been raped in police custody. Other policemen have illegally issued firearm licences. The security industry in South Africa employs four times as many staff as there are police. The SAPS continually asks the public to help them with crime prevention. Reports of police malfeasance are daily occurrences . (See Chapter 15 of The Great South African Land Scandal to realize just how incapable the SAPS is to replace the Commandos.)
The only solution for rural communities and farmers is to secure themselves. They will receive no help from anyone, let alone a government which takes their ability to feed 45 million people for granted.