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They found him strangled and tied to a post on the farm where he worked as a general manager earlier this month.
Since then, the murder of 21-year-old Brendin Horner has again revealed deep divisions between South Africa’s predominantly white farm owners and the predominantly black population, according to the New York Times.
The last few days have culminated in violent demonstrations and subsequent counter-demonstrations in the town of Senekal, in the province of Freistata, where the first court hearings took place, writes the South African Times.
More on that later.
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Rope around neck
Horner’s girlfriend reported him missing on the night of October 1 when he did not return home as usual. The police moved immediately and finally organized a search operation.
That day Horner celebrated an anniversary. He had worked at the DeRots farm in Paul Roux for a year, and was last seen leaving his job and moving to the neighboring farm, where Horner’s father works.
After the search operation, he was found strangled, killed and tied with a rope around his neck to a post near the farm where he himself worked.
It was Horner’s own father and a colleague who made the gruesome discovery early the day after the lost message arrived.
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Separated by barbed wire
Since the murder alarm sounded on October 2, the case has gradually received massive attention in the South African press, culminating this week after the first court hearings in the case.
Last weekend, two suspects in the case were arrested. They were brought to court on Thursday and Friday, but the real drama took place outside the court building in Senekal.
There, protesters and counter-protesters gathered, who were separated by barbed wire that the police had installed. The images were shocking for a country with a South African history.
On one side were white farm owners and users, on the other were protesters affiliated with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party, according to the Times.
At the slaughter stop
While farmers and the interest groups that support them claim that white farmers in South Africa are disproportionately exposed to violent crime and murder, counter-protesters point out that violent crimes are common in South Africa and that the majority of victims are black.
The figures do not give a clear answer.
Last year, there were 21,325 homicides in South Africa, of which 49 were white farmers, well below 1 percent of those killed, according to the New York Times. South Africa therefore has the fifth most murderous place in the world.
At the same time, whites make up about nine percent of the country’s total population of around 58 million.
The leading American newspaper refers to official crime statistics from the South African police, but the figures are not broken down by ethnicity or skin color.
At the same time, white farmers own 70 percent of all the farms in the country.
– is here to fight
The fronts were more polarized outside the courtroom. As white farmers sang the apartheid-era South African national anthem, EFF protesters sang the song “Kill The Boer” – “kill the Boer” in Norwegian – which is now banned.
– They tend to steal to bring food to the table. Now they are killing, said Derek Mayer, one of the white farmers during the New York Times rally.
Others argued that there was now a “genocide against whites.”
On the other hand, Julius Malema, the founder of EFF, gave a speech to his followers.
– We are here to fight and die in the fight against apartheid, because there is still apartheid in South Africa, Malema said in the speech.
The EFF founder was once expelled from the ruling ANC party, from the movement, and eventually from the party of which Nelson Mandela was also a member.
– They do not understand the big picture of dysfunction in South Africa. Everyone is a target, everyone is robbed, says Khanyi Magubane, a political commentator and New York Times journalist on the steep fronts.
Although the parties did not end in a violent confrontation with each other, a police car overturned and caught fire, according to the South African Times.
Outbreak of fighting in the South African Parliament
Towards murder
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa came out earlier this week and condemned the murder of Horner, 21.
He also warned against portraying the slaughter as part of a “genocide” against white farmers.
– The murders of white farmers are not genocide. They are criminal acts and must be dealt with accordingly, said President Ramaphosa in his weekly address to the people.
He then issued a warning after witnessing the demonstrations outside the courthouse in Senekal.
– What happened in Senekal only shows how easily racial hatred can erupt in this country.
