AfriForum today appealed to the ANC to urgently intervene to stop the racist statements in its own ranks. The civil rights organisation also announced that it is intensifying its campaign against farm murders. This follows after acting ANCYL leader, Ronald Lamola, yesterday said in Durban that “they” would act as violently as during a war to take farms from white farmers.

Last night, Johan and Gloudine van Rensburg were attacked on their farm near Baltimore in Limpopo. Johan was shot and killed in bed and Gloudine was admitted to hospital in a critical condition.

On 5 June 2012, at a press conference in Centurion, Lamola also referred to the violent expropriation of land. That same day a 29-year old woman, Arina Muller was murdered on their smallholding just outside Centurion.

AfriForum’s Deputy CEO, Ernst Roets said that AfriForum Youth had already filed criminal charges against Lamola and that AfriForum would intensify its campaign against farm murders.

“Lamola has blood on his hands. For as long as the ANC watches on while farmers are being killed and hate speech is rampant in its ranks, the ANC, too, has blood on its hands,” Roets said. The ANCYL recently also declared that “white capital” was their main enemy.

AfriForum is busy with preparations for national protest action against farm murders. “The public would have to join this campaign in their numbers to force government to declare farm murders a priority crime and to institute specialist units for rural safety. AfriForum will, at the same time, launch an awareness campaign, with its investigating unit, to assist farmers with advice on securing their farms,” Roets said.