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Police Minister Bheki Cele.
Gallo Images / Darren Stewart
- See Cele met with farmers and gave a commitment that union complaints of cattle theft and police involvement will be investigated.
- The minister has given 21 days, after which he will return to the farmers to draw up an action plan.
- The meeting came after an uproar over the brutal murder of Brendin Horner.
“For me, this is theft of securities,” were the words of Police Minister Bheki Cele, who pledged Tuesday to investigate complaints from unions of cattle theft and police involvement in the eastern Free State.
Cele assured farmers in the area that the issues they raised will be investigated and that a follow-up meeting will be held to chart the way forward to find solutions to the crime that has plagued farmers in Belén, Paul Roux and Senekal. .
Cele and State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo met with the group of farmers in a room outside Bethlehem on Tuesday.
The gathering was sparked by the brutal murder of 21-year-old Brendin Horner and the ensuing chaos that unfolded when a small group of protesters stormed Senekal Magistrates Court in an attempt to reach the men accused of killing. the young farm manager.
Crime in the eastern Free State
Herkie Viljoen, who is the chairman of a safety committee representing around 500 farmers in the area, told Cele that farmers, both black and white, have been plagued by organized crime.
Stock thieves operating in organized syndicates have been stealing large amounts of shares, amounting to more than R1 million in losses every month so far in 2020, they told Cele.
Viljoen said there were also allegations of police involvement in the union’s dealings and that the alleged stock theft offenders have been protected by certain police officers stationed in the different small agricultural towns.
It added that a dossier of these complaints and issues had been compiled and that these issues had already been raised with the police.
For farmers in the area, it was the operations of these unions that led to Horner’s death.
Viljoen told the ministers:
We saw it coming, we begged, and nothing happened.
“This is the end of the road for us, we can’t go on like this. We can’t farm in this environment.”
This is a stock heist
Responding to farmers, Cele said the issues raised sounded like stock heist operations, much like the cash-in-transit robberies that have also affected the country.
Cele said:
For me, it’s financial sabotage when you steal 1 million rand a month. For me, it is a theft of securities. Therefore, we must put the resources correctly there, so that this can come to an end.
Cele also dealt with allegations of police involvement in stock theft in the eastern Free State.
“One important thing that has been said around here is that the members of the South African Police Service are not clean.
“You have raised that. You have not been raised by white farmers or black farmers, you have been raised by farmers.”
The minister added that the police would have to analyze a number of issues, including:
– The market where the stolen shares are sold.
– Who helps the suspects with information about the farms?
– What happens when these matters have been reported to the police?
– What are the police doing?
– What happens when these cases are taken to court?
Cele said there is a rural security plan in place, but a plan would be needed to address the specific problems in this specific farming community.
The minister said that the agricultural community must have stability and security, so that they can do their job.
Cele asked for 21 days to investigate the matter, after which he will meet with farmers again to chart a way forward and put a plan into action.
Horner charged with murder
Cele also used the meeting to defuse tensions ahead of the upcoming court appearance for Horner’s murder defendants Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matlaletsa, who are expected to appear in Senekal Magistrates Court on Friday.
Cele asked the farmers to do their best for next Friday; they could protest, but not illegally.
“Let’s stay away [from] anything that can light a fire, “Cele said.
The minister said he would also be in court on Friday.
