AfriForum welcomes the fact that bail has been granted on Friday morning in the Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court to the five men that are accused of the murder of two men at the farm Pampoenkraal. Bail of R10 000 each has been granted to the five men.
Ernst Roets, Head of Policy and Action at AfriForum, says what happened on the farm is in itself a tragedy and the fact that two people are dead is an injustice, irrespective of what transpired.
“However, AfriForum is concerned that a second injustice is unfolding due to the fact that activists, politicians and certain commentators are handling the case ideological opportunistically, in the sense that despite the fact that proper information is not yet available about what exactly happened, ideological conclusions are made and propagated as the truth. It is used to work people up and incite racial tension. It is important that a thorough investigation is done in order for us to establish what happened before any conclusions are made.”
AfriForum has personnel in Piet Retief that monitor protests in the town and provide AfriForum’s head office with real-time information. The civil rights organisation has also appointed a legal representative to monitor the court proceedings closely.
Lastly, AfriForum condemns the comments made by Vusi Shongwe, MEC for community safety and security in Mpumalanga, who earlier this week suggested that violence could possibly break out in the province if the five men were indeed granted bail. The MEC should have called for calm instead.
The court proceedings have been postponed until 30 June 2021.