Hundreds of vehicles lined up in the streets of Newcastle, in the northern KwaZulu-Natal, during a peaceful march against farm murders.
The participants, many of them being farmers, called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently address the attack on farmers.
The killing of the Normandien farm couple, Glenn and Vida Rafferty, has re-ignited fears on the farming community.
The Raffertys were ambushed and shot dead as they entered their home on their farm last week.
Today’s march was in remembrance of the Raffertys and calling for an end to the senseless killing of farmers in the country.
“Each and every one of these crosses represents almost ten commercial farmers murdered over the years, these are 500 crosses. We are also here today mourning the death of the Rafferty from Normandien they were brutally murdered last week when they returned home. We want to see action, more visible policing,” says one of the organizers of the march, Darrell Brown.
Call for drastic measures to protect farmers and their workers:
Another farmer Theunis Nel says if the killing of farmers continues, the country will struggle to produce enough food.
“If you look at what happened in Zimbabwe, farmers were chased off in 2001. Now Zimbabwe is completely poverty-stricken and their currency devaluates. If this continues we are going to have the same and there’s going to be a massive food shortage and lack of investment and we are not going to be self-sustainable.”
Ordinary citizens hold a slow drive around Pretoria against farm attacks:
‘Farmers’ lives matter’
Chairperson of Amajuba Farmers’ Union Jan Smith says they are not satisfied with government efforts in addressing farm killings in the country. Smith says farmers’ lives matter too.
“The message is we as the country must stand together against the killing of our people and corruption including bad things happening in our country, this is in solidarity move. We as farmers Black and White are saying government is not showing serious progress against corruption. The killing of the Rafferty at their home shows level of intolerance these murders, there was no reason to kill them, at the end of the day if there is no farmer there is no food.”
The Rafferty couple were laid to rest on Saturday in a private ceremony.
Murdered Normandien couple laid to rest in KwaZulu-Natal:
