– The DA condemns the brutal attack on a farmer and farm workers in the Morebeng area and calls on SAPS to urgently apprehend those responsible.
– The attack again highlights the urgent need for properly resourced rural safety capacity, effective crime intelligence and stronger cooperation between SAPS and rural safety structures.
– Farmers, farm workers, and rural communities have the right to live and work in safety, and restoring rural security is essential to protecting livelihoods, jobs, and food security.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo condemns the brutal and heinous attack on a farmer and farm workers in the Morebeng (Soekmekaar) area of Limpopo, on Thursday this week and calls on the South African Police Service (SAPS) to urgently track down and catch those responsible, and on the criminal justice system to ensure that they are prosecuted convicted.
We stand in solidarity with the farmer, the farm workers, and their families, wish those affected a full recovery from this horrific ordeal, and extend our support to the wider farming community.
This attack is a chilling reminder of the vulnerability of those who live and work in our rural communities and again underscores the urgent need for farm attacks, farm murders and stock theft to receive priority attention, backed by properly resourced rural safety capacity, effective crime intelligence and stronger cooperation between SAPS, farming communities, farm watches and other rural safety structures.
According to reports, four armed suspects, reportedly dressed in police uniforms and reflective jackets with their faces covered, arrived at the farm at approximately 13:00. A farm worker was allegedly threatened with a firearm and tied up, while the suspects remained on the property for several hours awaiting the farmer’s return.
When the farmer arrived with two other workers, they were allegedly threatened with firearms and forced to provide access to a safe. The farmer was reportedly assaulted with a pick and sjambok, and his fingers were cut with side cutters in an attempt to force him to hand over the keys to the safe.
The attackers reportedly stole five rifles, a pistol, ammunition, an undisclosed amount of cash, a bank card and four cellphones before tying up the victims and fleeing in the farmer’s white 1999 Toyota Hilux double-cab bakkie.
Farmers, farm workers, and rural communities are entitled to the same protection from violent crime as every other South African. They cannot be left isolated and vulnerable while criminals operate with impunity.
Rural safety is also fundamental to the livelihoods, jobs and food security that agriculture sustains. The DA will continue to demand a capable police service that catches criminals, effective investigations that build prosecutable cases, and a criminal justice system that ensures those responsible for these attacks are held fully accountable.
We must restore safety and security to Limpopo’s farming and rural communities.