… Authorities accused of turning a blind eye on blatant racial killing that contrasts false ‘white genocide’ narrative
By: Abigail Visagie
Abigail VisagieGreat public concern is rising over the silence of political parties and government following the killing of a black farmworker by a ‘racist’ white farmer in Kroonstad recently.
A decomposed body of black man, who has since been identified as Thabo Mashiya from Lesotho, was discovered in a shallow grave on a farm between Kroonstad and Welkom on 20 August 2025.
The owner of the farm, an 80-year-old retired doctor who has been described as blatant racist by his workers, was arrested and later granted R15 000 bail with the case being postponed to 9 October 2025 for further investigations to proceed.
It is alleged that farmer’s 17-year-old grandson, who is a minor, is the actual perpetrator in this murder incident and the farmer’s name is being withheld to protect the identity of this young perpetrator. They both face multiple charges, including murder, attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice, reckless endangerment, and contraventions of the Firearms Control Act.
Given the prevailing silence that has shrouded the incident since the farmer was granted bail, members of the public have come out to express their concern over the lack of attention this matter is receiving. More especially following the false news reports peddled by white right-wing organisations of a ‘white genocide’ that is currently taking place in South Africa.
South Africa was turned into a global spectacle over these false claims with the United States president Donald Trump imposing these untruthful assertions on Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation in the White House.
Critics have warned that this silence by political parties and government not only undermines justice but also emboldens perpetrators to carry out rural violence.
Community members in surrounding areas where this heinous racial crime was committed believe that failure to address the attack risks further damaging South Africa’s credibility abroad - particularly as conflicting narratives circulate internationally.
“Just a few months ago, nearly every political party made headlines over alleged farm killings targeting white farmers, but now that the roles are reversed and a white person is implicated, silence reigns as if nothing happened,” said one resident in Maokeng township, Kroonstad.
When the veil came off this incident, the elderly farmer implicated himself by publicly confessed to have killed black people before, under the pretext of being attacked on his farm.
He told the SABC: “I feel very bad because this is the second attack. The first time … the attacker shot at me from outside my house and missed because of his angle. I came back with a shotgun, and I killed him. If I am a farmer and you attack me, I will kill.”
Another local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, has since questioned the dubious narrative that the farmer claims to have killed in ‘self-defence’.
“I don’t understand why our leadership is not acting on this. No one seems to care about what transpired here and how this is potentially going to damage the country,” said a resident who asked not to be named.
Journal News reached out to political parties, who stressed that crime in South Africa should not be viewed through the lens of race but rather as a threat to the safety and well-being of all communities.
Freedom Front Plus (FF+) leader in the Free State, Jan van Niekerk, believes that the impact of farm killings on rural communities is severe, regardless of the victims or perpetrators.
“Our position remains consistent: farm murders and rural crime should be prioritised and addressed with urgency by government and law enforcement. Protecting the lives of all South Africans, irrespective of race, must come first.”
Roy Jankielsohn, the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province, is of the view that race only seems to take precedence only when a white person commits a crime against a person of colour.
“The DA has always maintained that crime has no race and that perpetrators should face the same consequences as any other criminal once proven guilty in court - regardless of race or gender,” he said.
Jankielsohn added that it is important not to ignore the fact that most farm attacks involve severe torture and brutality inflicted on white victims.
“It may be time for political parties such as the EFF to focus on why this brutality is directed at white people and to work towards common ground, because safety is more important than race, gender or skin colour,” he said.
The African National Congress (ANC) had not responded to Journal News at time of publishing this article.
