South African farm attacks

The South African farm attacks (Afrikaans: plaasmoorde; "plaas" = farm, "moorde" = murders) are an ongoing trend of violent attacks on farmers in South Africa. Between 1994 and March 2012, there had been 361,015 murders in all of South Africa and between 1990 and March 2012, there had been 1,544 murders on South African farms of which 208 were black. Many white farmers perceive the attacks to be racially motivated. Fact checking organisation Africa Check has stated that black and coloured farmowners account for less than 38.4% of victims of farm attacks, while accounting for 89% of South Africa's population. Johan Burger of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has stated that attacks were not motivated by race but by greed. Moreover, the South African Police Service has declared that there is no evidence of organised attacks. The disbandment of the predominantly rural South African Commando System has been linked to the escalating level of farm attacks.

Human Rights Watch has criticized usage of the term "farm attacks" and the "disproportional" attention they received, although this notion has been rejected by other prominent international organisations.

Terminology and definition

South African statutory law does not define a "farm attack" as a specific crime. Rather, the term is used to refer to a number of different crimes committed against persons specifically on commercial farms or smallholdings.

According to the South African Police Service National Operational Co-co-ordinating Committee:

Attacks on farms and smallholdings refer to acts aimed at the person of residents, workers and visitors to farms and smallholdings, whether with the intent to murder, rape, rob or inflict bodily harm. In addition, all actions aimed at disrupting farming activities as a commercial concern, whether for motives related to ideology, labour disputes, land issues, revenge, grievances, intimidation, should be included.

This definition excludes "social fabric crimes", that is those crimes committed by members of the farming community on one another, such as domestic or workplace violence, and focuses on outsiders entering the farms to commit specific criminal acts. The safety and security Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Mpumalanga Province, Dina Pule, has disagreed with this definition and has stated that "farm attacks" only included those cases "where farm residents were murdered, and not cases of robberies or attempted murders." Human Rights Watch has criticised the use of the term "farm attacks", which they regard as "suggesting a terrorist or military purpose", which they consider to not be the primary motivation for most farm attacks. According to media reports, as of December 2011, approximately 3,158 – 3,811 South African farmers have been murdered in these attacks. However, self-reported data from the Transvaal Agricultural Union state that 1,544 people were killed in farm attacks from 1990 to 2012.

In 2012, Reuters reported that the number of the farmers of European descent had decreased by a third since 1997, citing news headlines about farm killings as an incentive to sell.

Committee of Inquiry

A Committee of Inquiry into Farm Attacks was appointed in 2001 by the National Commissioner of Police. The purpose of the committee was to "inquire into the ongoing spate of attacks on farms, which include violent criminal acts such as murder, robbery, rape, etc, to determine the motives and factors behind these attacks and to make recommendations on their findings".

• Monetary theft occurred in 31.2% of the attacks, firearms were stolen in 23.0%, and 16.0% of farm attacks involved vehicular thefts. The committee noted that "there is a common misconception that in a large proportion of farm attacks little is stolen" and "various items are stolen in by far the greater majority of cases, and, in those cases where nothing is taken, there is almost always a logical explanation, such as that the attackers had to leave quickly because help arrived."

Criticism of response

• Gideon Meiring, chairperson of the Transvaal Agricultural Union's safety and security committee, criticised the South African Police Service for failing to prevent farm attacks, stating that the police "are not part of the solution but part of the bloody problem". Meiring has assisted farming communities in setting up private armed patrols in their area.
• Kallie Kriel of AfriForum accused politicians, including Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana and her deputy Dirk du Toit, of inciting hatred against farmers, saying "Those who inflame hate and aggression towards farmers have to be regarded as accomplices to the murders of farmers." In particular, Kriel condemned claims that violence against farm workers by farmers was endemic. Simple theft could not be used to explain the full motive of the attacks as it was not necessary to torture or murder victims to rob them.
• Johan Burger of the Institute for Security Studies has stated that the dismantling of the commando system had created a vacuum which the current rural safety plan was not addressing adequately. Although no reason was given for phasing out the system it is thought that the government did so due to their suspicions that they were aligned to right-wing groups. A suspicion that has been criticised as incorrect due to the system's inclusion of black South Africans as well as white South Africans.
• Human Rights Watch criticised the government for placing too much emphasis on protecting farmers, at the expense of protecting farm workers from abuse by farm owners. They suggest that "farm attacks" are given a disproportionately high media and political focus. "Murders on farms (of owners, or of workers by owners) are given an individual attention that some other killings are not."

Tensions

The Natives' Land Act adopted in 1913, awarded the ownership of 87 percent of land to South Africans of European descent. The modern discontent among the black South Africans has caused the populists to call for a confiscation of white-owned farms in the north. In 2013, eighty percent of the farming lands was owned by one-tenth of the South African population. The EFF party, founded by Julius Malema, demanded redistribution of the land and wealth.

Although the government believes that biggest motive for attacks is robbery, there is racial discontent on some farms. White farmers believe that attacks are racially motivated.

Prevention

While the police are supposed to regularly visit commercial farms to ensure security, they claim they cannot provide effective protection due to the wide areas that need to be covered and a lack of funding. The protection gap has been filled by 'Farmwatch' groups which link together by radio nearby farmers who can provide mutual assistance, local Commando volunteers, and private security companies. These forces are more likely to be able to respond rapidly to security alarms than widely distributed police stations. The particular mix of groups that operate varies by area, with border zones continuing a strong history of Commando volunteers, while wealthier farmers are more likely to employ private security firms. The police and these groups are linked together as part of the Rural Protection Plan, created in 1997 by President Nelson Mandela. However, in 2003 the government began disbanding commando units, on the pretext that they had been "part of the apartheid state's security apparatus".

The disbandment of the Commandos has been cited as a factor in the escalation of farm attacks.