The police arrested one suspect. File picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
CAPE TOWN - The murder of a pensioner and serious injury to her husband on a farm just outside Moorreesburg have thrust farm murders back into the spotlight, with calls for them to be prioritised.
Sixty-nine year old Frans Koch and his wife, Ingrid, were attacked while visiting their son at Klipheuwel Farm on Tuesday.
Initial police reports stated that the Kochs were found with multiple stab wounds.
The police arrested one suspect who is expected to appear in court once charged.
Several organisations, activists and political parties called for more to be done to ensure the safety of people living on and visiting farms across the country.
DA member of Parliament, Andricus van der Westhuizen called on the police to deal with the matter decisively so the perpetrator could be brought to book. He said rural communities across the country were under siege due to heinous acts of violence.
“Rural communities are at great risk of crime due to their isolation from police stations. Police Minister Bheki Cele has not shown any sign of remorse for the plight of farmers and farmworkers. He has failed to properly implement the rural safety plan, which requires greater special police resources,” Van der Westhuizen said.
FF Plus MP and provincial leader in the Western Cape, Dr Corné Mulder said that they agree with Agri Western Cape in that “one farm murder is one too many”.
“The FF Plus will keep fighting for a much-needed special rural safety unit that focuses on the prevention of farm attacks and combats this type of crime in co-operation with farmers and other safety and security forums.
“The FF Plus expresses its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and wishes Mr Koch a speedy recovery,” Mulder said.
Last year, the DA launched court-watching brief units to assist farming communities to fight attacks.
However, since their launch, the units had seemingly taken root only in the Western Cape, DA spokesperson on agriculture, land reform and rural development Annette Steyn said.
“We have experienced some challenges regarding the monitoring of the court-watching brief units for farm murders.
“The only place that we do have information daily regarding farm attacks and farm murders is in the Western Cape, where they changed the legislation to ensure that once a case happened in a farming or a rural area, it is reported to the minister or the MEC of agriculture. They have an established desk and a team that works on that constantly.
“So the Western Cape picks up where cases have been thrown out of court, and where a long period lapsed for investigation. So I believe that the farm briefing or court briefing watches work,” she said.
In 2021, the Department of Agriculture conducted a survey to determine a baseline of crime in rural areas in the province. It concluded that farmers reported 44 farm attacks and 13 attacks on Agri workers between January 2018 and December 2019.
Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said: “The survey concluded that farmers and Agri workers live in fear of becoming victims of crime.
“Inadequate rural safety and security remain a threat to farmers and workers in the agricultural sector. Not only that, but the high level of crimes perpetrated against farmers is a threat to agricultural growth and jobs for rural people. It requires urgent attention from all spheres of the government.”
In its 2021/22 crime report, the sector recorded five farm murders and at least 11 farm attacks.