Farmers are pictured outside Senekal magistrates court on the 6th of October 2020. The support was in retaliation of the murder of 22 year old Brendin Horner. When the crowd heard the suspects were still at the courtroom, they attempted to break into the holding cells and the situation turned volatile, with police cars being turned over and set on fire. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
South African Agricultural Industry Association (Agri SA) has welcomed President Ramaphosa’s condolences expressed to the family of the late Brendin Horner, and all other victims of crime.
This came after Ramaphosa’s weekly newsletter, where he addressed the high level in violent crimes in South Africa, focusing mainly on rural crimes, following the murder of 21-year-old farm manager Brendin Horner.
“We also welcome the President’s acknowledgement that crime is tearing our country apart and poses a serious constitutional threat,” Agri SA’s president Pierre Vercueil said.
Vercueil said the country was caught up in a vicious cycle of crime, which had an extremely negative impact on all citizens. Horner’s body was found in an open field near Paul Roux in the Free State on 2 October.
He had been tied to a pole with a rope around his neck. On Tuesday, approximately 100 protesters clashed with the police outside the Senekal Magistrate’s court, where two men appeared in connection with Horner’s murder.
Ramaphosa said that Horner’s murder should, “anger and upset every one of us”. He added that the farming community was an integral part of the economy.
However, he said that killings on farms were not ethnic cleansing or genocidal, as claimed by some lobby groups. Rather, numerous studies showed that crime on farms was largely opportunistic, he said.
Vercueil said the maintenance of law and order must now be prioritised.
“We agree that the success of the revised Rural Protection Strategy depends on greater coordination and better communication between the South African Police Service (SAPS), agricultural organisations and communities.”
Agri SA said it already entered into a cooperation agreement with Fidelity ADT to help strengthen local security initiatives.
It said it was acting, “to encourage coordinated and pragmatic investment; to facilitate economic growth and assist emerging farmers; and to get rural economies on track in order to improve the quality of life of all people in rural areas and bring about prosperity on an inclusive basis”.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
