A KwaZulu-Natal farmer was shot dead on his farm in the Estcourt area, the KwaZulu-Natal Agriculture Union (KwaNalu) said on Friday.
KwaNalu CEO Sandy la Marque said initial information received by the union was that Greene (70) had been approached by a group of men on Thursday and sustained a single, fatal gunshot wound.
The Witness newspaper quoted Greene’s son, also called David, as saying: ”He was shot once, point blank, in the forehead. Police recovered one expended 9mm cartridge on the scene. My mom was in the garden and she rushed to help him, but it was too late.”
Police spokesperson Captain Ursula Cronje confirmed the incident.
”His wife heard a shot and when she looked to see where the shot came from, she saw a person going into the house. When she saw a man wearing a brown jacket, she realised it was not her husband,” she said.
The wife proceeded towards the entrance of the house to investigate when the intruder ran out.
”She found her husband lying on the ground but he was already dead … she then pressed the alarm for help,” said Cronje.
It is not known whether anything was taken from the house.
La Marque said Greene’s murder means that 21 KwaZulu-Natal commercial farmers have been murdered this year. ”This is the most farm murders we have had since 2003. It is really concerning to us”.
She said the 21 commercial farmers murdered included people of all races.
In a statement, KwaNalu said: ”Obviously the motive for this murder is unknown, but without undue speculation it is felt that tensions relating to land-reform issues may have provided the perpetrators with the excuse they sought to commit this crime.”
The union pointed out that while the rights of farm workers have been highlighted, those of farmers and landowners have received scant attention.
”KwaNalu has in its possession details of such violations which include blatant physical threats to the physical well-being of landowners, threats of murder; physical assault of landowners by supposed land claimants, ongoing and persistent damage to livestock and property of landowners, the barring of access to landowners’ own properties by so-called claimants, and the invocation of traditional spiritual methods of intimidating landowners,” the statement read.
Condolences were offered by the union to the Greene family. — Sapa