I’ve spent a previous decade walking into bloodied homes, comforting survivors (if there were any), and standing beside grieving families. Some farm attack scenes resemble an abattoir more than a crime scene. You don’t unsee it. You don’t forget the smell. You carry it with you.

Today I’m spending time patrolling with the Sir Lowry’s Pass Farm Watch. What they’ve built here isn’t just a neighbourhood watch — it’s a lifestyle of service, vigilance, and commitment to the land and its people. In a place where state support is unfortunately quite unreliable and threats are real, they’ve stepped up. From night patrols to trauma response and intel sharing, they’re writing a different story for rural safety. It’s sustainable. It’s community-led. And it works.

So what makes farm attacks in South Africa unique?

These aren’t statistics. They are people.

• People like Hannatjie and Callie, attacked on their smallholding in Muldersdrift. Hannatjie was raped repeatedly while Callie was forced to watch.

• Or David Netshilaphala, a small-scale farmer in Limpopo who went missing after checking his kraal. His body was found weeks later after other farmers gave police key intelligence.

• Or Dawid and Rallie de Villiers, both in their 80s, murdered in their home in the Eastern Cape with satanic symbols painted in their blood.

• Or Attie Potgieter, stabbed over 150 times in front of his wife Wilna and 2-year-old daughter Wilmien, before both were executed too. A poem titled “Willemientjie” by Ilze Nieuwoudt was written in her memory — a quiet tribute to unspeakable horror.

According to Dr Theo de Jager (Saai), three key factors set these crimes apart:

1️⃣ Incitement & Political Rhetoric No other group is routinely targeted with chants like “Kill the Boer”. This kind of rhetoric doesn’t just incite — it desensitizes. It creates a climate in which violence against farmers is not only tolerated but, in some circles, encouraged.

2️⃣ Extreme Brutality Victims are tortured, raped, mutilated — often when nothing is stolen. While these attacks are largely financially motivated, Rudolf Zinn’s research found that the violence is often excessive and disproportionate, suggesting that fear and domination are intentional outcomes.

3️⃣ Public Applause Unlike gang or other urban murders, some farm murders are celebrated online. Radical accounts mock the victims. And in many cases, there’s silence — or worse, subtle approval — from people in positions of authority.

Long-term impact? • Most farms take 18 months to 5 years to recover. • Entire families emigrate or leave farming permanently. • Farmworkers lose jobs, housing, and stability. • The number of commercial farmers has collapsed from ~120,000 in 1994 to ~35,000 today.

This isn’t just a farmer problem. It’s a food security problem. A rural economy problem. A national problem.

What Rudolf Zinn’s research reveals:

• Most attacks are planned — sometimes for weeks or months — and sometimes use insider information. • Victims are selected based on perceived wealth, location, and vulnerability. • Organized syndicates often facilitate movement of stolen weapons, goods, vehicles etc • Police response is regularly late, under-equipped, or entirely absent.

And while Zinn found financial motivation in most cases, he also noted the extreme brutality and strategic use of fear, especially in cases involving isolated victims.

What now?

• We need dedicated rural safety units, properly trained and equipped — not vague promises. • We need early warning systems, radio networks, farm patrols, and trauma support. • We need consequences for incitement and hate speech, no matter who says it. • We need justice, not press statements.

This is about rural dignity, food security, and the right to live without fear.

It’s about David. About Attie. About Wilmien. And about every family who locks their doors before sunset and prays that they’ll live to see the sun rise. #FarmMurders #FarmAttacks

https://x.com/IanCameron23/status/1924497227558379582