Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Leona Kleynhans MPL, Member of the Official Opposition in the Free State Legislature.
The passing of Mr David Leslie, who was the victim of a heinous farm attack on the evening of 1 September 2020, after having been on life support in ICU for over a month, is another tragic reminder of how the Free State farming community have been abandoned by the SAPS and have been found having to fend for themselves.
According to recent replies received to questions filed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State Legislature, it is clear that the SAPS are failing to apprehend farm attackers, including those accused of murder. The latest reply provided by the MEC for Police, Roads and Transport, Sam Mashinini, states that 90 farm attacks took place in the Free State in the thirty months from April 2018 to September 2020, which equates to an average of 3 farm attacks per month.
Furthermore, during this period 36 murders or attempted murders were also recorded, whilst only 25 arrests were made. The DA are concerned that there have only been 6 cases of successful convictions, with a further 6 cases having been withdrawn or closed, and a further 3 accused who were acquitted. Whilst there remain 21 cases currently before court or ready to proceed to trial, it is alarming to note that the SAPS in the Free State have 29 cases with no known suspect.
These shocking figures reveal the inability of the government to ensure rural safety and prevent the scourge of farm attacks. In 60% of cases over the past thirty months, including cases where murder and attempted murder are involved, the investigation appears to be stagnant, with no suspects or leads in 33% of farm attack cases.
There have been serious allegations of SAPS officers colluding with stock theft syndicates, and a report compiled by farmers from the Paul Roux area was handed to the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. It is believed that this report substantiates allegations and it is our opinion that there is a wilful neglect by the SAPS to investigate cases relating to various crimes of farms and smallholdings. In many instances suspects are involved in a variety of crimes on farms, even while on bail.
Further information obtained by the DA includes the fact that, although SAPS may apply to Interpol to have cases of stock theft and farm attacks investigated in Lesotho, not a single person has been extradited to South Africa to face trial despite the existence of an extradition treaty. The response from the Free State MEC for Police, Roads and Transport, Mr Sam Mashinini, states that: “In most cases stock theft suspects are trialled in Lesotho and the outcome of the cases is then provided to the SAPS for the finalisation of the case dockets. There has been no extradition thus far.”
This is an outrageous state of affairs. The DA is aware of farmers who are now following stock thieves into Lesotho to retrieve their cattle. It appears that whilst farmers are on a desperate pursuit to fend for their own livestock and property, the SAPS are not taking this issue seriously. This reply further implies that even if a Lesotho resident were to be a suspect in a murder case, neither the SAPS, nor the SANDF will actually launch a serious campaign to pursue, apprehend and bring such a suspect back to South Africa for trial.
On the issue of SAPS vehicles, a further reply states that a total of 47 vehicles are allocated to the SAPS to police rural safety within the Free State. In some stations these vehicles must also be shared with urban areas. We have over 100 police stations within the Free State, many of which cover vast and mountainous rural areas. It is disgraceful that there is only an average of a single SAPS police vehicle between every two police stations doing rural patrols in the Free State. How can we expect the SAPS officers to combat crime, conduct investigations, apprehend criminals, and bring suspects to conviction if they are not provided with their tools of trade?
The recent barbaric and senseless murder of Brendin Horner, a young farm manager in the Paul Roux area, and the protests by various groups at the trial in Senekal, have brought to a head the desperation of farmers, their farm workers and families in the Free State. The eyes of the world are now on South African farmers, and government can no longer ignore the situation. The replies to the DA’s questions are a confirmation of how dire the state of affairs really is. South African farmers have for many years been betrayed by this ANC government who have a constitutional obligation to provide them with protection. If this government is serious about agriculture and food security, then they must implement measures to ensure rural safety and the prevention of rural crime.
The DA have developed a comprehensive rural safety strategy and have also tabled a Private Members Bill in the Free State Legislature which would provide a policy and legislative framework for tackling rural safety in partnership with rural communities. The DA will continue to question government, and to analyse their responses, in order to make meaningful contributions to rural safety strategies in the Free State.