‘Racism does not exist in Senekal’

The N5 Highway starkly divides the farming town of Paul Roux in Free State into two sections – a predominantly white area consisting of less than 240 houses, and a black township known as Fateng Tse Ntsho,  a mix of informal housing structures and old RDP houses.

A 76-year-old farmer, Johannes van Schalkwyk, who has spent all his life in the town, admitted that recent farm killings had created tension between the two communities.

“I can concede that we have a stock theft problem. It's always been there. Over the past 10 years I’ve experienced four cases of stock theft. But farm murders, that has never happened here,” Van Schalkwyk  said. "We can't run away from the fact that the guy was killed but the question is who did it. So it's hard for us to trust people."

Two residents of Fateng Tse Ntsho, Sekola Matlaletsa and Sekwetja Mahlamba, were arrested and charged with the murder of Brendan Horner.

Van Schalkwyk said Horner's killing had left local farmers fearful and on a knife edge.

Look, I can tell you now that racism is something that does not exist here. But that boy’s murder put everyone on edge

“My staff consists of people who come from the township. These are people I have known for many years. I suspect – but I am not saying it’s true – that those who murdered that boy are probably criminals from Lesotho or people who do not come from this area,” he said. “But that’s my opinion and I am not saying it’s true.” 

Though shocked, some locals in the area said the murder was not a result of racial tensions arising from the ill treatment of black workers by white farmers.

A restaurant owner who asked not to be named said he did not believe there was racism in the town as he employed five locals from Fateng Tse Ntsho.

“Look, I can tell you now that racism is something that does not exist here. But that boy’s murder put everyone on edge. It has become political, which is something we are not used to.” 

The town was eerily quiet on Friday as businesses were closed and locals attended the bail hearing to support Horner’s family.

Across the N5 Highway Zondo Sithole, a black farmer who said he had his stock stolen on numerous occasions, accused the police of failing to act to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.

“The problem is that police know who the suspects are because they work with them. I have opened cases with the police for countless acts of theft, but no arrests have been made and I don’t know how the investigations are going,” he said. Sowetan sent two of his case numbers to police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo for comment but he had not responded at the time of going to print.

A police officer who asked not to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the media said some of his colleagues have been fingered in stock theft cases in Paul Roux.

“They (farmers) hate us. There is no other way of describing it. Some of our colleagues either steal or work with syndicates that operate in stock theft,” he said. “How can they trust us when some of our colleagues are seen to be helping thieves in stealing their animals? It's difficult to do your job because you can't act against your colleagues.”