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.

Media statements | Safety Media statements

Wear white for Dewald: AfriForum and family of young victims ask after farm attack and execution-style shot

ByAfriForum 27/10/202527/10/2025

Soundbite: Jacques Broodryk (English)

Soundbite: Jacques Broodryk (Afrikaans)

Wear white for Dewald on Tuesday. This is the wish of AfriForum and Dewald Beetge’s family and friends for this young security officer who will tomorrow spend his 22nd birthday in a critical condition in a Durban hospital after a brutal farm attack two weeks ago in which he was shot in the face in an apparent execution-style. According to the Beetge family and AfriForum, a day of white is aimed at protesting against the senseless violence that is plaguing the country’s rural communities.

Beetge was seriously injured in the attack on their family farm outside Melville, between Hibberdene and Port Shepstone, on 15 October. He suffered five gunshot wounds to the hip, abdomen, chest and face. AfriForum has condemned the attack and its clear brutal nature. The organisation believes the residue and burns on Beetge’s face may indicate that the attackers intended to kill him execution-style. He was kept in an induced coma until Thursday (23 October) and last week underwent emergency surgery and various tests to determine the extent of possible brain injuries.

On the day of the attack, Beetge noticed the suspects when he arrived at the farm after his shift. He immediately called his father, Karel. Karel works as an operations manager for the same company as his son. While father and son were on the phone, several shots rang out. Karel immediately rushed to the scene, where he found his son in critical condition.

“This horrific attack once again highlights the serious threat that the rural community faces daily. These are not ordinary crimes – these are brutal, targeted acts that destroy families and communities,” says Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson for Community Safety. “AfriForum has repeatedly warned that the government’s unwillingness to prioritise rural safety is putting countless lives at risk. This tragedy must serve as a wake-up call, and tomorrow our wake-up call will be depicted in a sea of white clothes.”

The Beetge farm has been the target of eight burglaries this year, causing losses of more than R50 000.

No one has yet been arrested in connection with the attack on Beetge.