Note to editors: Find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by DA Northwest spokesperson on Agriculture and Rural Development, Jacqueline Theologo.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West will, following several farm attacks that took place in the Brits area over the past two weeks, closely monitor all proceedings ensuing from the arrest of suspects to the prosecution to ensure that perpetrators face the full might of the law.
This is in line with the recent nation-wide Rural Safety Court Watching Briefs Unit initially launched by the Department of Community Safety in the DA-led Western Cape.
In consultation with the police, the prosecution and the victims of farm attacks, we aim to facilitate the proceedings to achieve quick, just outcomes for all parties involved.
In two separate incidents, farmers and farm workers from Kareepoort and Kleinfontein near Brits were attacked on Friday, presumably by the same four men.
Just a week before, Johan and Susan Breedt suffered the same fate on their farm also situated in the Brits area.
The prompt response by members of the Community Policing Forum (CPF) and the community led to the arrest of two suspects, but arrests rarely leads to imprisonment, making the implementation of the Rural Safety Court Watching Briefs Unit, crucial.
Farm attacks are especially rife in the Brits region and as long as criminals are not brought to book, communities will continue to suffer at the hands of these merciless attackers.
Attackers often make use of stolen firearms and to this end, the DA submitted written questions to the MEC for Department of Community Safety and Transport, Sello Lehari, requesting information about the number of firearms that have been recorded as stolen during farm attacks and murders since the year 2010 and also how many of such firearms have been recovered.
For our DA Watching Brief project, the following nine provincial heads, are ready to assist in any farm attack situation:
North West
Jacqueline Theologo MPL – Theologoj@da.org.za
Northern Cape
Dr Reinette Liebenberg MPL – netabsamail@gmail.com
Free State
Dr Roy Jankielsohn MPL – roy@da.fs.org.za
Limpopo
Jacques Smalle MPL – jacquessmalle@gmail.com
Western Cape
Dr Ivan Meyer MPP – Ivan.Meyer@westerncape.gov.za
Eastern Cape
Annette Steyn-MP – anett@xsinet.co.za
KwaZulu-Natal
Chris Pappas MPL – PappasC@mpl.org.za
Mpumalanga
Bosman Grobler MPL – bosmangrobler@yahoo.com
Gauteng
Adrian Roos-MP – dadrianroos@gmail.com