126 farmers killed during 780 farm attacks in KwaZuluNatal province alone since 2001 - court hears

126 KZN farmers killed during 780 farm attacks in KwaZuluNatal province since 2001, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard. March 28 2014 IOL journalist Sherlissa Peters, IOL Daily News - Second conviction for killer of Eston farmer Mick Hampson and attempted murder of his son Murray Hampson on September 27 2013. Acting Judge Louis Barnard found Ngobese guilty of Hampson’s murder, as well as the attempted murder of his son Murray and robbery with aggrav Pietermaritzburg - There have been 780 farm attacks in Kwa-Zulu-Natal since 2001, 126 of which involved murders. This was testimony of Kwanalu (farm ) security desk manager Koos Marais at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday. Marais revealed that according to his statistics, which were verified by the SAPS, there were 57 attacks reported last year, with 10 of these being murders. This year, in January and February alone 3 farmers were killed in nine attacks. Marais said farms were more vulnerable to criminals, who perceived them to be easy targets, being isolated from the police. “It takes the SAPS longer to respond to these areas and it is not easy to fortify these premises because they are open spaces with easy access and volumes of people passing through on a daily basis,” said Marais. “These attacks sabotage the government’s plan for agricultural development and the economy of this country,” Marais said. He was testifying in aggravation of sentence in the case of Jabulani Ngobese, who was earlier convicted of the murder of popular Eston farmer Mick Hampson. Acting Judge Louis Barnard found Ngobese guilty of Hampson’s murder, as well as the attempted murder of his son Murray and robbery with aggravating circumstances. His accomplice, Siboniso Mtolo, pleaded guilty to Hampson’s murder last week and was sentenced to life behind bars. Hampson, 69, was shot dead on September 27 when he and his son confronted two men trespassing on their farm. According to Murray Hampson, who testified during the trial, he and his father were talking to a group of workers when they noticed two suspicious-looking men walking on their property. Hampson instructed them to get onto the back of his bakkie and drove them towards his farmhouse to call the police. Murray, who was armed with a shotgun, was sitting in the back of the bakkie with the men when they wrestled it out of his hands and shot Hampson. The men then fled into the sugarcane plantation. Hampson died on the scene. Judge Barnard said Ngobese had admitted to entering Hampson’s farm with his accomplice Mtolo to steal a vehicle, when they were confronted by the father and son. “Without your help, Mtolo would not have been able to dispossess Murray of the shotgun,” he said. Judge Barnard did not find Ngobese a credible witness. “You are clearly an intelligent person, and you tailored your evidence as the case progressed. Your version – that you were a reluctant participant – is so improbable, it can safely be accepted as false,” he said. Ngobese was to be sentenced on Friday Daily News http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/isolation-makes-farmers-vulnerable-court-1.1667984#.UzZF8KJcOUk