Cape Town – Civil organisation AfriForum on Thursday released a report on farm attacks and farm murders in South Africa.
The report provides an overview of the characteristics of farm murders over the last six years from 2016 until 2021. During this time it verified 364 murders.
AfriForum’s head of policy and action, Ernst Roets, said the report highlighted the poor arrest and conviction rates of perpetrators involved in farm murders.
He said an open-source media analysis was used and the organisation examined and assessed the arrest of suspects as well as the conviction of perpetrators. “An average of 47% of known attackers during farm murders were arrested, but only 33% of the arrested perpetrators were convicted.
“This is truly shocking and shows how the criminal justice system fails victims of farm attacks.
“The report also found that there is not a single year in which torture didn’t occur and that, on average, 15% of farm murder victims were tortured,” Roets said.
Johan Nortjé, a researcher at AfriForum, said the report was “extremely concerning” and warranted urgent attention. “In 2020, the percentage of murder victims who were tortured was 24%.
“This shows that farm attacks are not just an ordinary crime and should be prioritised,” Nortjé added.
The report also stated most farm murders were committed in Gauteng, while Northern Cape had the lowest number of murders.
It showed than more than 50% of the murders occurred on farms and not smallholdings. Most murder victims were male and the average age of victims was 57 years.
The crimes were perpetrated at all times of the day, but the most common times found were during 6pm and 9pm.
The report also revealed that the leading cause of death, accounting for 52% of incidents where the cause of death was known, was shooting/gunfire.
“In the light of the murder and torture rates on farms, it is now necessary for farmers to take their safety into their own hands. AfriForum aims to make farmers and their families more (pepared) against farm attacks.
“AfriForum will continue to drive projects, actions and campaigns to improve the safety of our farmers and support them where we can,” Roets added.