Farmers are fed-up with crime

Farmers In Mpumalanga and the North West province took public action to show their solidarity against farm attacks and farm murders
Issue Date 16 May 2008

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Farmers In Mpumalanga and the North West province took public action to show their solidarity against farm attacks and farm murders.

On 29 April about 200 farmers marched in the Mpumalanga town of Middelburg following the murder of 33-year-old Johan Myburgh of Groblersdal. Members of AfriForum and the Groblersdal community handed a memorandum to the South African Police Service demanding an investigation into the relationship between alleged “hate speech” by politicians and farm attacks. AfriForum’s Kallie Kriel said it’s time politicians who fuel hatred are charged as accomplices in the murder of innocent farmers. He accused land and agriculture minister Lulama Xingwana and her deputy Dirk du Toit of stoking the fires of racism through constant false accusations of abuse and bad labour practice. he same day 150 farmers and community members from the Lichtenburg district attended the first court appearance of Andrew Modikela, the accused in the murder of At and Katrien Deysel. Phillip van der Walt, deputy chairperson of the Lichtenburg district agricultural union, told the media that farmers and residents attended the appearance to show solidarity with the family. “We want people to see we have had enough of crime,” he said. – Jasper Raats