land expropriation

Farm Land – File Photos

Boks of ’95 ask SARU to honour farm murder victims in Currie Cup Final

The 1995 World Cup winners have wrote to the union, asking for a moment’s silence to be observed this weekend

land expropriation

Farm Land – File Photos

The World Cup winning Boks of 1995 have lobbied SARU, asking that a minute’s silence is observed before Saturday’s Currie Cup match at King’s Park, Durban, to honour farm murder victims.

The farming community is suffering a great deal of trauma, and land-motivated attacks have resulted in 70 murders and 341 incidents in total since January 2017. The appeal has been motivated by the killing of 47-year-old Stellenbosch wine farmer, Joubert Conradie.

Old Boks appeal SARU for farm murder tribute

In their appeal to SARU, the former Boks stated that “violent crimes destroy communities throughout the country”. They highlighted the troubling crime stats that were released this week. In the last 12 month, the rate has jumped up 1.8% to 19,016 murders.

Their plea comes just three weeks after FF Plus leader Pieter Groenewald asked the Springboks to don white ribbons ahead of their Cape Town clash with New Zealand, to raise awareness of violence against farmers.

Farm murder stats from 2016

In his own appeal to SARU, he cited police statistics from 2016 to hammer his point home. It now seems like the rugby community are ready to make this an issue of utmost importance.

  • In South Africa, 50 farmers were murdered in 457 farm attacks through 2016
  • This amounted to almost nine attacks per week
  • In South Africa, there have been more than 277 attacks in which more than 60 people were killed since January 2017
  • According to Groenewald, this would mean SA has seen almost 28 attacks per month this year.

Glebelands would also be honoured in Currie Cup Final

The Currie Cup Final will be contested by Sharks and Western Province. It’s home advantage for the Sharks at Durban’s Kings Park, and the Boks of 95’s plea also wants to appeal to another problem close to their KwaZulu-Natal home.

Almost 100 people have been killed in the notorious Glebelands Hostel in the province in the last three years. Zero arrests have been made in connection with the crimes.

They want to commemorate the victims of last year’s 19,017 murders along with their tribute to farmers. Surely a minute of silent tribute isn’t too much to ask?