“The DA in the Free State condemns in the strongest terms the three separate farm attacks across the Free State [on Wednesday and Thursday] that saw the brutal murder of four persons,” DA Free State MPL Roy Jankielsohn said.

On Wednesday evening, an 87-year-old farmer from Parys was attacked and murdered with a hammer. [On Thursday], the bullet riddled bodies of a farmer and a domestic worker were found in a farmhouse near Wepener. The names of the victims had been withheld until the families had been notified. On Thursday evening, Johannes du Randt, a farmer from Ladybrand, was brutally murdered on his farm.

“On behalf of the DA, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims. We call upon the SAPS to employ all resources at their disposal to investigate these heinous crimes and to bring the murderers to book.

“Our rural communities continue to be plagued by increasing crime and too little is being done to protect farmers and farm workers. We cannot accept that far-flung rural communities across the Free State continue to live in fear for their lives.

“The DA again reiterates its call on the SAPS to immediately establish specialised rural safety units in order to fight this scourge of violent crime within rural communities. I will be writing to Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to urge him to act immediately,” Jankielsohn said.

DA condemns four murders in spate of farm attacks in Free State