Political analyst Tinyiko Maluleke has called on organisations and political parties to immediately unite in seeking a solution to farm attacks in the country.
Maluleke’s call follows last week’s violent protests in Senekal in the Free State during the court appearance of Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa – who are accused of murdering farm manager Brendin Horner.
During the violence, a group of protesters stormed the court and torched a police vehicle.
A businessman was arrested and charged with public violence and damage to property. He will appear in court on Tuesday.
Maluleke says although the anger is understandable, people should be discouraged from resorting to it.
“So, AfriForum, DA, EFF, ACDP, ANC, all of these leadership organisations should stand up and show leadership at this time. If they don’t, they are really pushing us as a country towards a situation that we will regret. Because there’s a number of problems in the country at the moment and one doesn’t want them to explode any more than they are doing already,” adds Maluleke.
Click on the audio clip below to listen to Prof Maluleke:
Fight against crime
In his weekly letter to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to unite in their fight against crime. He cited protests and vigilantism in Senekal in the Free State following the murder of a young farm manager as well as the shooting of three young men in a car in Delft in the Western Cape in the same week.
He says citizens should not be blinded by their own prejudices to the suffering and pain of others, adding that it doesn’t matter whether the victim is black or white.
Meanwhile, some farmers have urged the government to bring back the death penalty.
In the video below, farmers in the Free State are calling for the return of the death penalty:
