Heartbreaking List of Farm Murders in Free State Continues to Grow

Yet another Free State farmer has died this week in South Africa, after being shot in August.  He joins a painfully long list of farm attack victims in South Africa, particularly in the Free State where unconfirmed figures show there have been at least 10 farm attacks in the province in less than six weeks.

Teboho Machakela (37) – who described himself on Facebook as “an Entrepreneur, Innovative, and Ambitious Young Black Farmer” – was shot in the head during a robbery on his farm in the Odendaalsrus area on 19 August 2020. After being in a coma for six weeks, he recovered well enough to eventually be sent home… but sadly died on Monday, 2 November 2020.

Sending condolences to his family, Leona Kleynhans MPL – Member of the Official Opposition in the Free State Legislature – said in a statement on Sunday: “The Democratic Alliance (DA) is heartbroken to hear of the death of this young cattle farmer in the Free State.”

She added: “Teboho joins a long list of farmers and farm workers who have died in the line of duty in the province.”

Just two days ago, the Free State community were rocked by the brutal murder of Pieter Hills (56), and the attack on his son, Eddie, which has left Eddie in a critical condition in hospital. This attack took place in the farm house of the Zwartpan farm near Hennenman.

Leona said that according to information, yet to be confirmed, there were more than 10 farm attacks in the Free State since 1 October 2020 resulting in the deaths of 4 people. In addition to this, David Leslie died on 18 October 2020 after the brutal attack on his farm in the Eeram area near Harrismith on 1 September 2020. He had been in a coma in hospital following the attack.

On 25 October 2020, Dave Wessels (65), died after he was attacked in his bed on his smallholding, Avondster near Viljoenskroon. Aside from being a farmer trading in sheep and cattle, he was also a decorated military veteran.

The young farm worker, Brendin Horner (22) was brutally assaulted and strangled on the farm De Rots near Paul Roux on 1 October 2020. His death resulted in an outpouring of outrage across the country and focussed attention on the lack of safety and security in farming and rural communities, which was highlighted by an investigation by Carte Blanche.

According to SA’s leading current affairs show, frontier life in parts of the Eastern Free State, where South Africa’s 900km border with Lesotho exists in all but name, has become a daily game of Russian Roulette. In places, dilapidated fences and broken-down farm gates are all that separate the residents of farms and towns on the border from growing insecurity and incalculable losses. The isolated farming communities are isolated and being left alone as stock thieves and criminals ride roughshod over private properties. (South Africans abroad can stream this episode on Showmax International.)

Today the DA said: “The Free State has lost these five farmers in the space of five weeks. All of them engaged in productive farm activities producing food for our country.

“Aside from these attacks which led to the deaths of the victims, there have been numerous incidents in which the victims were kidnapped and tortured. As well as thousands of livestock being stolen every month.

“We simply cannot go on like this.”

The DA says despite Minister Bheki Cele’s promises, the reality is that the SAPS is “utterly under-resourced, under trained, de-motivated, and in some cases colluding with the thieves and attackers”.

The DA is calling upon senior government leaders to acknowledge that South Africa has a massive problem, and together “root out corruption, recruit committed and upright citizens, properly resource, fund and train the police service. SAPS also needs to engage the DA’s rural safety plan and implement certain aspects thereof in order to address and improve the safety of our farming community.”

President Ramaphosa said in a recent newsletter that all South African citizens should be angered by Brendin Horner’s and all farm murders.