Photo: © Reuters / Siphiwe Sibeko
Two rival groups of protesters have squared off outside a courthouse in Senekal, South Africa, following the death of a white farmer. Suspects in the killing were being held at the courthouse at the time.
White farmers, many of whom claim they are victims of racist attacks, demanded the state do more to protect them. Many wore t-shirts saying:
"Stop farm murders, enough is enough."
Meanwhile, supports of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a radical black political party also protested what they claim is widespread economic injustice at the hands of the white minority. Despite apartheid being deconstructed 30 years ago, there still remains vast chasms in wealth and prosperity between the white minority and the black majority, largely due to white ownership over much of South African land and resources.
Some of the EFF protestors could be heard chanting, "kill the Boer, the farmer", a slogan that was used widely in the struggle against apartheid.
Brendin Horner, a 21-year-old, was brutally murdered at the start of the month in what is suspected as being a racist attack. He was found with a rope around his neck tied to a pole. He had been stabbed multiple times.
The two black suspects aged 32 and 44, are known as notorious thieves who have a long string of convictions. They were apparently found in a car with a blood-stained knife and clothing, though the continue to protest their innocence.
At previous protests related to the killing, white farmers had demanded that the suspects be handed over to them, a riot then ensued where a police car was set on fire and objects thrown. One farmer was even charged after entering the court and firing his gun in the air.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called the killing of Horner "an appalling act of cruelty".
He went on to add:
"We must not be blinded by our own prejudices to the suffering and pain of others. It should not matter to us if the victim of violent crime is black or white."
Many white farmers say they fear for their lives at the hands of criminals and political extremists. During apartheid, despite white people only making up a very small fraction of the South African population, they controlled the whole of society from the economic structure to the political institutions. Black people were not allowed to take part in elections, form real political movements or take part in civil society.
Apartheid collapsed in 1990 and the all-white regime fell. Nelson Mandela was then elected as South Africa's first democratic president elected via universal suffrage.
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