Please, Mr Minister, don't play down farm murders – you do us no good, Daily News letters

Malema’s politics of unreality

At the mass funeral in Vryheid for 10 young EFF supporters who lost their lives in a bus accident recently, EFF leader Julius Malema’s penchant for the politics of emotion was in top gear.

But by using the occasion to make promises of land, homes and a functioning infrastructure for the families of the 10 victims, reason and reality became the victims of Malema’s politics of emotion.

For the sake of votes for the floundering fortunes of the EFF, Malema wittingly indulged in wild pledges which can never emanate from the policies of the EFF.

Reason and reality indicate that under an EFF regime, the shambles that the ANC has created would be 10 times worse. Socialism does not fix roads, build houses for the masses or provide them with boreholes let alone jobs. Instead, as ANC rule has shown, socialism enriches elites while impoverishing the masses. The plight of millions in South Africa testifies to that.

Malema rightly referred to the dangerous conditions that prevail on our road system, which caused the deaths of the 10 EFF supporters, as a “wake-up call” requiring urgent attention.

Ironically, however, those who swallow Malema’s politics of unreality are the ones who require the wake-up call. | DR DUNCAN DU BOIS Bluff

Netanyahu, Trump not war criminals

The world at large is a much safer place than it was a few days ago, but US President Donald Trump’s critics are quick to jump to conclusions that there must be some political motivation for the US attack on Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan.

Depending on where you stand with Trump, or what your ideological or religious views are, the way that you reason and the conclusions that you will reach, will be directly linked to your personal belief systems.

Iran’s ties with North Korea, Russia, and China, are enough to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Some would say that the US should never have joined this war on terror, while others would say that Trump betrayed his own voters, while yet others would call Netanyahu a murderer and all kinds of ugly names, when, in fact, both Trump and Netanyahu have proven to be men of truth, honour and extreme strength.

I cannot think of anything stronger and more admirable than two godly men who stand up for the Free World, doing what no other nation has managed to do: Strike Iran in its own back yard.

One moment Trump was saying that he needed another two weeks to think about the next step, then six B2 stealth bombers fly undetected into Iran and drop so-called “bunker-­busting bombs, supposedly obliterating Iran’s nuclear sites, buried deep underground. It is unprecedented how the Israeli Defence Force and the US managed to pull off this stunning victory over their enemies, namely the IRGC (Islamic Revolution Guards Corps).

Let’s be clear, this war is not against the Iranian people, but against its evil suppressive regime.

The people of Israel love the Iranians, and there have been reports of the Iranian people calling for a complete regime change. Muslims are converting to Christianity and Iranian women, who have been oppressed for decades, want to burn their hijabs and live free from the impositions they have had to endure since 1979, when the Shah was overthrown.

My hope is that more people would realise that this is not only a war against a nefarious regime, but it’s also about regime change for Iran and setting its captive population free. | L Oosthuizen Durban

Israel’s strike a tactic from turf wars

IN the high-stakes arena of international conflict, Israel’s pre-emptive strike on Iranian soil can be likened to a brazen gangster crossing into rival territory to send a message. Just as a mob boss might storm another’s neighbourhood, guns blazing, not for defence, but to affirm dominance, Israel’s attack echoes this display of underworld bravado.

In the murky world of geopolitics, intelligence replaces whispers in smoky bars, and drones replace drive-bys. The Israeli state, long skilled in covert operations, played the part of the seasoned crime syndicate, sending a calculated warning.

Iran, viewed as a threat to Israeli interests through its nuclear ambitions and regional influence, became the target of a “hit”, not unlike a gangster neutralising a threat before it gets too powerful. This strike, while framed as self-­defence, had the hallmarks of a turf war manoeuvre: pre-emptive, symbolic, and designed to intimidate. It was a show of reach and precision, proof that Israeli forces could penetrate deep into the heart of enemy operations. In the underworld, such a move provokes fear but also retaliation.

And so, in this geopolitical gangland, escalation becomes the price of dominance. Allies watch closely, much like smaller gangs gauging which mob boss holds the streets.

Ultimately, this analogy underscores a grim truth: when statecraft mirrors the logic of gangland warfare, the rule of law fades, and power is enforced not by consensus or diplomacy, but by the muzzle of a gun crossing into another’s turf.” | Adiel Ismail Mount View

Erratic Donald Trump jumps the gun

The world, by and large, is emphatic that American President Donald Trump is erratic. By ignoring diplomacy and going full throttle by attempting to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities to smithereens, has Trump militarily jumped the gun by prematurely exposing one of his regime change schemes? | Eric Palm Gympie, Queensland

Justice & protection for our children

I WRITE this letter with a heavy heart after reading a newspaper report headlined, “Eastern Cape police launch manhunt after discovery of charred bodies of teen girls”.

The harrowing details of this tragedy are deeply distressing. The brutal killing of these young girls is not only a violent act against innocent lives, but a damning reflection of the growing scourge of gender-based violence in our society. These were children, full of promise, whose lives were senselessly stolen in a manner no words can justify.

While it is commendable that the Eastern Cape police have launched a manhunt, we must go beyond reactive measures. We must ask: how do such heinous acts continue to happen? Where are the safety nets for our youth? What preventative actions are being taken in schools, communities and government structures to shield young girls from such violence?

This incident must be a turning point, not just another story in the news cycle. As a nation, we must demand justice for these girls and accountability from those who failed them. More importantly, we must work collectively to rebuild a society that values, protects, and uplifts its children. Let their names and lives not vanish into the ashes.

Let them be a wake-up call to all of us. | Keseabetswe Khuduga Sandton

Do not downplay farm murders

Dear Minister McKenzie,

You are no stranger to the open-­letter format. In your political journey, you have often chosen this method to engage those you believe are in need of correction. I take a similar approach here – not as a foe, but as a South African citizen concerned about the tone and direction of our national discourse.

Recently, you posted a tweet noting that 30 young people had been killed in the Western Cape. You suggest that the Coloured community is “closest to genocide.”

With respect, this is a deeply irresponsible statement. The word genocide carries a very specific meaning: It refers to the deliberate and systematic extermination of a group, in whole or in part, on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, or nationality.

What is happening in the Western Cape is tragic and undeniably urgent to deal with, but it is not genocide. Gang violence erodes families and destabilises communities. Rooted in a complex interplay of poverty, ineffective policing, and social dysfunction, it demands a response grounded in urgency and clarity.

However, inflating it to the level of genocide does nothing to advance the cause of those suffering. On the contrary, it trivialises actual genocide and risks dulling our collective sensitivity to such crimes.

While many might interpret your tweet as a cry of outrage on behalf of the neglected, it is also evidently a back-handed response – or a pushback – against those who have raised legitimate concerns about farm attacks. In particular, it seems aimed at organisations like AfriForum, which you presumably believe have exaggerated the issue of farm attacks to the point of misleading the international community.

You appear to view them as culprits behind the “white genocide” myth.

This is not a new line of reasoning – it has become increasingly common among those who seek to undermine the severity of farm attacks. AfriForum and others are accused of manufacturing hysteria and misrepresenting white South Africans as exceptional victims. Their use of crime statistics is often framed as serving a political agenda. But this narrative is deeply flawed.

It ignores the fact that the primary pushers of the “white genocide” myth have mostly been mainstream journalists and radicals on the left of the political spectrum, who weaponise it to discredit the issue of farm attacks and shield the state from scrutiny. Credible voices, including Afri­Forum’s, have not used the term genocide to describe farm attacks and have consistently and publicly rejected it.

This kind of response fails to engage the actual arguments being made. Those who raise concerns about farm attacks are not suggesting that whites are the only victims of crime.

Rather, they are advancing three key points:

■ Farm attacks are a matter of grave concern. While crime statistics indicate a marginal decline, these attacks remain disproportionately brutal and traumatic. They often involve torture, sadistic violence, and the targeting of especially vulnerable individuals.

■ Farm attacks are not treated as a priority crime by the SAPS in contrast to crimes like cash-in-transit heists and gang violence, which benefit from dedicated strategies and resources. Given the importance of agriculture to the economy and the vulnerability of farmers operating in remote areas, one can reasonably argue that the absence of a tailored security strategy amounts to state complicity. Calling it such is not the same as accusing the government of orchestrating a genocide. It is simply a demand for consistency and fairness.

■ Racial tension remains a defining feature of the country’s landscape. In such a context, the legal protection of the “Kill the Boer” chant, which is defended on the basis of liberation heritage, is profoundly misguided. The chant is not a harmless historical slogan. It is inflammatory, divisive, and open to interpretation by those who may take it as a call to violence. With this in mind that I urge you to choose words with the care and precision this country so desperately needs.

Our challenges are real and urgent, but exaggerations and misrepresentations only deepen divisions and distract from effective solutions. If we are to build a South Africa where all communities feel safe and valued, our discourse must be grounded in truth and respect. | Ayanda Zulu Free Market Foundation

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