Singer Steve Hofmeyr and his Bittereinders activist son, Devon Hofmeyr, who will be making his bail application at the Groblersdal Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 15 February 2024. Photo via Facebook/ DevonHofmeyr
The bail bid of outspoken Afrikaans singer, actor and activist Steve Hofmeyr’s son Devon Hofmeyr and three others will be heard on Thursday, 15 February against the backdrop of escalating racial tension in the farming town of Groblersdal.
Referred to as the Groblersdal 4, the 30-year-old Devon and his fellow Bittereinders activists Willem Petzer and Tewie Wessels were charged on Monday with assault and inciting public violence at the Groblersdal Magistrate’s Court.
The fourth accused, Dries Olivier, who submitted a sick note, is yet to appear in court.
The state indicated on Monday that bail would be opposed. However, the trio’s defence made headlines as they said they were ready to proceed with a bail application as all their addresses had already been confirmed by the police.
The charges stem from their participation in a protest on 24 January at the very same court where the Groblersdal 2 – Piet Groenewald and his stepson, Stephan Greeff – appeared on charges of assaulting an employee and allegedly unleashing a security dog on him.
According to Maroela Media, the volatile situation reached a flashpoint when about 100 protesters, mostly from the Bittereinders movement, arrived brandishing Transvaal Vierkleur flags while demanding the release of Groenewald and Greeff.
This after the town has already been on a political knife’s edge as large numbers of ANC and EFF members descended on Groblersdal.
The protesters, marchers and members clashed and Francois van der Merwe, a leader of the Bittereinders, was arrested.
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Devon, who is the co-director and one of the leaders of the Bittereinders movement whose members actively campaign against farm murders and farm attacks, has become a notable figure on the socio-political landscape.
In October 2023, he made headlines when he confronted Police Minister Bheki Cele in Brits about the top cop’s perceived indifference towards the increasing farm murders and crime, especially in the North West region.
The Bittereinders leader has also clashed with the EFF and Julius Malema on several occasions of which the latest political “scuffle” was related to the leader of the Red Berets’ inciteful chanting of Kill the Boer at a 2023 rally in Soweto.
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Heading to social media on Monday, Steve Hofmeyr – who has also been very vocal about farm murders over the years and played the lead role in Darrell Roodt’s award-winning 2015 crime drama Treurgrond – took a firm stand on his son’s “right to protest”.
“The Boere Afrikaner’s last democratic instruments are slowly being stripped away from him, His right to protest and demonstrate is labeled as terrorism. He is made an example of while the other bloodthirsty ones are exonerated. They do it to me. They will do it to our sons too,” he tweeted in Afrikaans.
He also made an impassionate plea for financial assistance for Devon’s bail bid.
In his outreach on Facebook, the singer highlighted the financial strain of legal representation which often puts those with limited financial resources at a disadvantage, potentially leading to innocent individuals not having adequate legal representation.
Heading to Instagram late on Monday night, Steve commented on the presence of Cele and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, as well as the ANC and EFF, at the Groblersdal courthouse and questioning the absence of other significant political parties.
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