The TAU said in a statement: “If the tendency from January 2012… should be applied to 2013, based on the January [2013] figures, 82 people could be murdered in 218 attacks on farms this year.”
TAU deputy president Henry Geldenhuys said this will be the highest rate of attacks and murders since 2005 when 115 people were killed on farms. 51 people died in farm attacks last year. Of these, five murders took place in January 2012. This January eight people were killed in farm attacks. .
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa did not respond the TAU’s requests since January last year to discuss farm attacks and ways to curb it. “There are many suggestions that we would like to discuss with Mthethwa… to offer our help, but then he should grasp the opportunity for such discussions with both hands instead of ignoring us or discrediting us in the media,” said Geldenhuys.
But Mthethwa last week a business breakfast organised by the The New Age rag that there was nothing “special” about farm attacks and did not deserve to have more police focus than other crimes and that agricultural groups had been making farm murders “political”.
“What I have refused to accede to is that farms are special areas in our society. No, they are not. They are part and parcel of the rural safety plan. We have said to those who want to do nasty politicking on this matter that they must take a broader view and ensure that we talk about rural safety in totality.”
