The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) is outraged by the killing of two women in Mankweng by white racist farmers, who further demonstrated their disgust for the victims by feeding their corpses to pigs. The farmer, Zachariah Olivier, and his employees should be denied bail when they appear in Polokwane Magistrate Court on Friday, 30 August 2024.
Though no words could bring comfort to the families of the deceased, we offer our condolences to the families of the deceased and wish the injured victim a speedy recovery, so that he can be able to testify against these murderous racists.
The gruesome and inhumane against poor black working-class people is a stark reminder of the deep-seated racism and violence that continues to plague our society. The very foundation of the Republic of South Africa was built upon racism, which manifests in many ways other than the graphic violence witnessed at Olivier’s farm. This incident quickly reminds us of Tshepo Matloga, who was beaten to death by Afrikaner members of a Rugby club in a farm near Dendron and dumbed in Flag Boshielo Dam in 2001. Like the poor women, Tshepo was said to be trespassing on the farm (hunting on the farm of Botha).
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) reported in January 2024 that farm workers in Groblersdal and Marble Hall, in the Limpopo Province, faced horrific abuse for asserting their basic rights. Workers were shot at by employers for requesting a minimum wage, run over with bakkies, and subjected to racial slurs for asking to be registered for UIF. White farmers in rural Limpopo continue to treat Black people in an inhumane manner, largely because they face little to no legal consequences. This climate of impunity has led to tragic incidents, such as the deaths of Maria Makgatho and her friend at the hands of hateful farmers.
Government has to strengthen its hand in dealing with farmers, who mostly harbour racism against black people. This requires the Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL) to ensure that inspection takes place regularly on all farms, to ensure compliance with labour laws, regulations, and standards. The police must also deal with cases of assault by farmers on employees and passers-by which are often neglected.
The murders and tortures that are inflicted on the people who are said to be “trespassing” on farms by farmers, either hunting or fishing, invoke the unresolved land question. Black people in general have been dispossessed of their land through force and violence by the Boer settlers and British colonialists, who were un-avowed racists. The accusation that black youth who hunt or fish on these farms are “trespassing” or “illegal” cannot be understood outside of the fact of landlessness that came as a result of the land dispossession of the colonial administration in 1913 and 1936. Therefore, the solution should be the expropriation of land and be put under the custodianship of the state. It is only under publicly owned land that black people will exploit the natural streams through fishing and hunting in bushes near their villages to make a living without being considered illegal.
