DA: Govt failing farmers

2012-02-21 11:17

Johannesburg - The death of a farmer in Buffelshoek, in the North West, is a result of the government neglecting its responsibility towards the safety of its rural citizens, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday.

The 49-year-old farmer was shot dead on Monday morning.

"The striking prevalence of farm attacks in the North West as well as other rural provinces testifies to the extreme vulnerability of rural South Africans in the absence of proper, visible and co-ordinated sector policing," DA MP Juanita Terblanche said in a statement.

"The government is neglecting its responsibility towards the safety of its rural citizens."

The farmer and his wife were milking cows in their dairy when they were overpowered by about five armed men, said Brigadier Thulani Ngubane. The dairy is roughly 70 metres away from the couple's farmhouse.

"They were both taken back to the farmhouse where there was a confrontation between the suspects and the farmer. He was shot in the head from behind." He died on scene.

"His wife was taken inside the house and tied up. She was assaulted ... on her head with a blunt object," said Ngubane.

The gang fled in the farmer's car. The woman was taken to hospital for medical treatment.

- SAPA