Johannesburg - Civil rights organisation AfriForum on Wednesday released its own research showing 62 people were murdered during 270 farm attacks in South Africa so far in 2015.
AfriForum researcher Lorraine Claasen said last year 61 people were killed in 279 farm attacks.
“It is disturbing that more murders were committed in less farm attacks. It shows that attackers are not cautious to kill,” Claasen said.
“Sixty two fatalities are shocking, and in most attacks only the content of safes, cash and/or firearms were stolen.”
According to the AfriForum research, most farm killings took place in Gauteng with 13 murders, followed by Limpopo with 11, and KwaZulu-Natal with 8.
“In the Free State and Eastern Cape, seven farm murders were reported respectively. We cannot allow this shocking statistic to repeat itself in 2016,” said Claasen.
“AfriForum will continue putting pressure on government and international role players to get farm murders declared a priority crime. We shall also continue establishing community safety networks across the country to improve the safety of communities in rural as well as urban areas.”
Farm attacks and murders were recorded and verified by AfriForum and agricultural union, TAU SA, on a monthly basis, she said.
African News Agency