I originally wrote this opinion piece because of my concern regarding the situation in South Africa. The information I found is from sources that I would describe as mainstream here in the West. A writer can only work with the facts he has access to. I was contacted by some readers regarding the piece I wrote, some offered praise, like some members of my family who read the article, but there was something that troubled me. Some Afrikaners said that the stated facts regarding the Native Lands Act of 1913 were not accurate. The facts I found relating to the Native Lands Act said that the land was granted to the Afrikaners.
Many of the people who contacted me assured me that this was not true and kindly presented me with evidence that was contrary to my original findings. When looking for more facts I began to realize there was a lot of propaganda out there regarding the subject, so I will try to present the facts as accurately as I can.
The Native Lands act is a complex issue
The Native Lands Act has often been touted as one of the reasons for the grievance of black South Africans when it comes to the issue of land in South Africa. Most mainstream sources report that as much as 80 percent of the land was awarded to white South Africans. But doing more research, with the help of some people who provided me with some sources to look at, the actual figure is not as simple as that.
It is a far more complex subject.
In 1913, when the Native Lands Act was signed into law, it constituted the areas which were known as British South Africa. In 1913, British South Africa constituted the nations of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. These lands would eventually become nation-states of their own, so this did change the total percentage of land allocated to black South Africans in years to come.
But at the time, the designation of land amounted to about 60-40 in favour of the whites, some estimates even put it at 50-50.
The land in South Africa was divided up after the Boer Wars, and many different tribes and factions involved, like the Boers and the Zulus were given assurances following the war to try to bring about a stable union.
Until 1961, when South Africa became a republic, Afrikaners do not appear of owned the amount of land that is stated in a lot of mainstream sources. The land that the Afrikaners owned was not simply granted to them either, they had to buy the land, and the Native Lands Act does have some mention about the trading of land between different factions, whites were not allowed to buy native owned land and vice versa.
Robbery is secondary
A second issue I wanted to address is regarding the motive of these crimes. In the west, there is not much to cling onto when trying to find a definitive motive regarding these crimes. As I mentioned in my previous piece, some experts have stated that the motive regarding this is robbery.
Someone very kindly sent me a research piece that was undertaken by a research assistant called Christopher Gumbi at the University of Limpopo. The findings of this research eliminated any doubt in my mind that this is more than just a financial robbery tactic. This is something far more nefarious.
In the research conducted by the University of Limpopo, the author suggests that the attacks on farms are not just an opportunistic crime, but they are a well-organized operation which is conducted by people that have been found to have connections with government officials and have had extensive military training in either South Africa or Zimbabwe. The author of the piece states that there is a need to inflict serious physical injury on the owners and occupants of these farms.
Harrowing tales were reported of numerous torture tactics being undertaken by the perpetrators of this crime including the burning of victims with hot water. The author of this piece seems to suggest that this is a crime which can be traced back to the highest level of government. The motive of robbery being the main instigator for these crimes also appears to be insignificant, many farmers reported to the author of the piece that many of their valuables were not stolen, the main items which are targeted during these crimes are the victim's weapons.
Possible government collusion?
I have done some research of my own following my original piece, which seems to indicate there is possibly some government collusion involved in this, going back as far as the early 2000's.
Following Nelson Mandela presidency, President Mbeki took over as the leader of South Africa. President Mbeki was responsible for the disbanding of the South African Commando System, a largely rural force which would have been responsible for protecting many of the farmers in South Africa's more isolated districts.
A Committee of Inquiry was appointed by the National Commissioner of Police in 2001 to investigate the motives behind the farm attacks. The findings of the inquiry dismissed some of the claims that monetary gain from the attacks was a secondary motive and the inquiry was soon disbanded. The governance of Jacob Zuma and the emergence of Julius Malema also provide more credence to the claims that this is tantamount to a land grab.
Julius Malema has gained notoriety for singing the well-known song in South Africa, "Kill the Boer." I think anyone hearing that being sung by a man who may be wielding significant political influence in years to come has every right to be frightened. Julius Malema is a well-known advocate for "land reform" and his party, The Economic Freedom Fighters, is largely inspired by Marxist ideology, and we have all seen where Marxism can take us if we study the recent history of the world!
A lot of the people who contacted me regarding my first article seemed genuinely concerned that their story is told in its entirety. I have heard my family speak of this issue, but I have only started to pay the attention it deserves recently since I have embarked on a writing career.
I can draw no other conclusion now other than that the Afrikaner is on the verge of facing a genocide, the kind of racially motivated murder we saw in Zimbabwe back in the 2000's. The Government of Jacob Zuma is at best ignoring this, and there is evidence to support that the tentacles of a conspiracy may well indeed spread all the way back to the ANC.
I stand by a lot of what I said in my original piece, but part of investigating a subject is reporting on new facts when they come into my possession. I have a personal reason to fear what the future could hold for South Africa. I have dozens of relatives that still live in this nation, so I feel a responsibility to try my best to get this story the mainstream recognition it deserves here in the West.
In my parting message while writing this piece, I implore Western powers to take note of what is happening in South Africa with the plea, please don't let this great nation go the way of Zimbabwe, because if we don't stand up and deal with this issue, the blood will be on our hands.
