The civil rights organisation AfriForum released its latest report on farm attacks and murders at a press conference today. According to the report, 2020 saw an increase in farm murders despite the fact that crime in South Africa decreased in the same year.
“AfriForum’s research reports 63 farm murders in 2020, as opposed to 45 farm murders in 2019,” says Andrea Muller, a researcher at AfriForum.
AfriForum also announced its strategy to curb farm attacks and launched the Safeguard a Farm campaign in cooperation with Saai. The campaign aims to provide farmers with the necessary training to enable them to take their safety into their own hands.
“Although farmers are increasingly more vigilant, it is AfriForum’s aim to make them and their families more defensible 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,” says Marnus Kamfer, AfriForum’s Legal and Risk Manager.
The training includes
- Safety assessment of farmsteads
- Training in basic first aid
- Weapons training
- Supplying analogue radio systems and radio training
“Government cannot continue to ignore the impact of farm attacks and murders on its victims and their communities,” Muller concludes.
