ANC CONDEMNS HERMANN FARM MURDER

The African National Congress (ANC) strongly condemns the cold-blooded murder of Limpopo farmer Frik Hermann (78), whose body was found on his farm near Alma on Tuesday (see Beeld report).

The murder of Mr Hermann, uncle of trade union Solidarity's deputy general secretary, Dirk Hermann, is yet another chilling reminder that - while we are making tremendous strides in stamping out crime - there are still those in our midst who have vowed not to stop carrying out such criminal activities like farm killings.

We call on the South African Police Service (SAPS) to leave no stone unturned in apprehending the perpetrators of this ghastly deed. We also call on farmers and farming communities to strengthen such structures as community policing forums to step up effective collaborative anti-crime efforts with the police. We believe that this will go a long way in ensuring that criminals have no place to hide in society and are hunted wherever they are.

Crime fighting remains one of the ANC's key priorities and we are happy that the various security arms of Government continue to make tremendous progress on this front.

The death of Mr Hermann has robbed the country of someone who has dedicated most of his life to farming - so crucial in the economic growth and food security in the country.

In this hour of need, we send our heartfelt condolences to the Hermann family, relatives and friends.

Statement issued by Jackson Mthembu, African National Congress national spokesperson, February 9 2011

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