The Hawks says it will be investigating a report that alleges some police officers were involved in livestock theft in Paul Roux and Senekal in the Free State.

Stock theft was highlighted following the murder of 21-year-old farm manager Brendon Horner whose body was found savagely beaten and deceased. Horner’s murder-accused are charged with stock theft among other chargers.

The chairperson of the Safety Committee, Herkie Viljoen, representing around 500 farmers in Paul Roux says he submitted a report last year about police involvement in stock theft. The report alleges that stolen animals were found on a farm owned by a police general, and accused a station commander in the Free State of being near farms around the time that farmers were targeted.

Meanwhile, relief organisations have come to the aid of Free State farmers who were impacted by the devastating veld fires. The fires have reportedly been raging for four days now and have reportedly destroyed over 100 000 hectares of farmland, mainly in the Western Parts of the Free State.

Over the weekend, farming leaders and their supporters protested murders and violent crimes. Converging at Parliament, they called on the government to do more to stop the violence. Event organiser Shaun James says he would like an inquest into the brutality of farmers and farm murders need to stop.