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The continued violence fuelled through misinformation currently coursing through the farming community, is a perpetual bomb in the making if not remedied soonest. With the violence erupting in Piet Retief and then the heartbreaking murder of a farm-attack survivor in Winterton, but to name a few, the already frail farming community is in a state of distress.
The original incident follows an encounter at a farm in the Dirkieskop area on Friday, 9 April 2021, as many would have already read. Chaos erupted between farmers and alleged job seekers, not staff as some might believe. Initially, police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli claimed a group of men went to the farm in the area, seeking employment as seasonal workers. However, the police official explained that when the farmer said they were not welcome on his premises, the men left. However, upon leaving, the men realised one of their party had been left behind and returned to the farm, where according to Colonel Mdhluli, they found him being held by the farmers.
This, the police officer claims, resulted in a clash between the farmers and jobseekers, leaving two of the jobseekers dead.
Furthermore, with the incident gaining momentum nationally and additional information coming to light, there appears to be more to the matter than the police initially stated. This follows farmers from the Piet Retief area voicing their outrage at the media reports regarding brothers Amos and Zenzele Coka, who were killed on the farm. It was found, the two farmers in question were brutally assaulted during the scuffle, yet, the initial police report makes no mention of this.
The two farmers were so severely injured during the confrontation, they were admitted to hospital, with the third farmer requiring medical attention while in a holding cell. One of the injured farmers’ condition was so severe; he was transported to a hospital in Newcastle, where he is being treated and is apparently in stable condition. As a result of the altercation, the farmer has undergone two operations, as he sustained severe head injuries and suffered bleeding on the brain.
The police initially denied any farmer was seriously injured. A doctor has also since told Netwerk24; he treated Danie Malan, the third injured farmer’s wound in the holding cells in Piet Retief.
Malan and three others, Cornelius Greyling, Othard Klingenberg and Ignatius Steynberg, are facing charges of murder and assault and are expected to appear in court on 19 April 2021.
A person doing safety work and farm security for farmers obtained statements from eyewitnesses and compiled his findings—claims there have been issues in the area prior to the said incident, whereby the landowner had been targeted by people demanding work. The man wished to remain anonymous. Allegedly, what police failed to mention was that a group of 20 to 25 men came to the farm on the day of the incident. One of the farmers met with them, and it was here that he was assaulted. The man who allegedly attacked him was taken into custody shortly before the police were notified of the matter.
Following this, the alleged jobseekers then charged into the farm’s sheds and began assaulting the farmworkers, using knobkerries, iron pipes and pangas. They allegedly told the farmworkers to leave so that they could take their jobs. Greyling, one of the farm owners and murder accused, then sent a call for help via a WhatsApp group, calling for help. His call was answered by farmers in the area, who all rushed to the farm, and it was then that the matter escalated.
As reported on, at approximately 11.50 am, a message was sent out by the farmers requesting more backup. Apparently, the first gunshot was fired shortly afterwards, resulting in more farmers responding and rushing to the farm. Someone then sent another message via WhatsApp, asking that an ambulance be sent to the farm. Malan had been hit with a knobkerrie. The farmers then took the suspect into custody, waiting for the police to respond.
Shortly afterwards, one of the deceased Coka brothers then allegedly used a steel pipe to hit the fourth farmer, who is now in the Newcastle hospital. The Coka brother then grabbed the wounded farmer’s firearm and proceeded to fire off shots. It is speculated that in the process, he shot his brother. It was allegedly then that the farmer then shot him.
With the farming community up in arms, AfriForum is calling on the public to stay calm and refrain from spreading their own assumptions concerning the murder suspects in the Piet Retief area and wait for a thorough investigation to be done.
Ernst Roets, Head of Policy and Action at AfriForum, asserts there are several versions of what happened during the incident. “Emotions are running high without any certainty on what really went down. The fact that two people were killed and one hospitalised is regrettable. There is, however, too little verified information available to make conclusions about what really took place. The different versions also vary to such an extent that it would be irresponsible to simply come to conclusions and publish it as the truth without having all of the facts.”
Unfortunately, with a call for calm being issued, the second case, which noted the shocking murder of wheelchair-bound Winterton farmer Neil McKay on Saturday, 10 April 2021, has added fuel to the fire.
According to police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala, the 46-year-old farmer was found with strangulation marks on his neck. She adds, his hands were also tied, and he was found in his wheelchair. The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated.
The DA has voiced its shock and horror, with party member Alf Lees saying, “We are also appalled by the news that the reason he was crippled was because of an initial farm attack some 20 years ago. In that attack, he was shot and disabled. It seems that despite the passing of 20 years, the attackers who crippled Neil McKay have never been convicted. Surely this second attack and horrendous murder will move Minister of Police, Bheki Cele to finally give as much attention to solving the thousands of unsolved murder cases as he does to arresting people minding their own business on the beach?”
Lees explains the murderer/s apparently attacked Neil in his office in the farm shed, shortly after the farm manager and staff left for their homes on Friday evening. After he was on his own, Lees explains the suspects first cleaned out the safe, before dragging Neil to his bedroom, where they strangled him to death. He further states, “Neil’s dogs clearly did their best to defend him and were savagely slashed but, judging by the blood on the scene, it seems the dogs did manage to injure those who murdered Neil McKay.”
With these two incidents making national headlines and tensions running high, KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala conducted farm visits in Pongolo, Vryheid and Normandien from 10 April to 11 April 2021.
The primary purpose of his two-day visit was to establish what challenges both farmworkers and dwellers faced. This and to improve the relationships between them and farms while outlining the government’s accountability approaches in addressing the alleged human rights violations and abuses within the farming communities.
Zikalala pointed out, “Our intervention should be seen as government’s way of showing care and consideration for the plight of farming communities. It is important that as government, we ensure social cohesion and stability among farming stakeholders to avoid devastating and sometimes deadly confrontations among these communities. If farming tensions are not addressed and solved timeously, this would spell disaster for our province and the country.”
He also emphasised it is essential that as government, they interact with all farming stakeholders to iron out differences, making it difficult for peace, social cohesion, and nation-building to prevail in these communities. “We urge you to work with us in finding lasting solutions which will ensure peace and stability in these agricultural communities.”
Furthermore, he states, “The challenges besetting farms are no longer just problems of white protagonists versus black antagonists. We are learning also that these challenges are also within black farming communities where farmer-owners themselves are black people. The problems also concern fights and disagreements in community trust that have benefitted from government’s programme of land reform and land restitution. Such challenges give land reform a bad name as we see productive land left fallow and even going to waste.”
Following the engagements, Zikalala established a cabinet committee, which will meet monthly and report back to the community to address its issues.
What are your thoughts on the matter, and how do you feel the issues can be peacefully resolved?
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