Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

Leandra farm attack: AfriForum welcomes heavy sentences for three attackers

Soundbite: Jacques Broodryk (English)

Soundbite: Jacques Broodryk (Afrikaans)

AfriForum welcomes the heavy sentences imposed today by the Evander Magistrate’s Court on three men who attacked and robbed a 60-year-old woman and her domestic worker on a farm in Rolspruit, east of Leandra in Mpumalanga, in 2022. The attackers were each sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 71 years in prison for this attack. AfriForum describes the sentencing as a critical confirmation that attacks on the country’s farming and rural community will not be tolerated.

Thubelihle Ndwandwe, Siyabonga Ndwandwe and Muzikayfani Ndwandwe were found guilty of 17 charges against them related to the attack, including robbery and assault, on 20 June. The attackers, who were aged 29, 29 and 43 at the time of crime, attacked the farm in the early morning of 7 September 2022, under the pretence of purchasing livestock. They, however, overpowered and assaulted the 60-year-old victim and stabbed her several times. The attackers subsequently held the farmer’s wife and the domestic worker hostage, robbing them of various personal items and cash. The South African Police Service (SAPS) and local farmers swiftly took action, leading to the arrest of the three attackers later that day.

AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson for Community Safety, Jacques Broodryk, testified during today’s sentencing in aggravation of sentence and pointed to the violent nature of farm attacks and their devastating consequences.

“These attacks are characterised by extreme brutality and psychological terror. Victims are left traumatised, communities are destabilised and trust in the criminal justice system is shaken,” Broodryk said. “It is critically important that the court handed down sentences that reflect the severity of this crime – and today it did.”

In his testimony, Broodryk further emphasised, among others, the long-term impact of farm attacks on victims and the agricultural sector. According to AfriForum’s own research, compiled from its community safety database, farm attacks have serious emotional, economic, and social consequences and can lead, among other things, to disruptions in food production, rural trauma and widespread fear.

“Farmers live and work in isolated areas, making them particularly vulnerable. Farm attacks also directly threaten the country’s food security and rural livelihoods,” according to Broodryk.

AfriForum also reiterates that justice in these cases must be served in a decisive manner to deter further attacks, especially since the arrest and conviction rate in rural crime is often very low. AfriForum’s research shows that for the period from 2019 to 2022, only about 20% of farm murders committed in Mpumalanga resulted in arrests, while no convictions were recorded during this period.

“The criminal justice system must send a clear message that targeting farmers has severe consequences. Today’s sentencing sets that precedent,” concludes Broodryk.