[imagesource: Carte Blanche / Twitter]

The brutal murder of Brendin Horner in the Free State town of Paul Roux has led to protests in the neighbouring town of Senekal, and also across the country.

Senekal has seen violent showdowns between local farmers and law enforcement, which grabbed headlines last week, and this Friday the two men accused of Horner’s murder will find out if they will be granted bail.

One of the main issues faced by farmers in the area, and those right across the eastern Free State region, is the lack of an actual border with Lesotho.

The failings at Beit Bridge and our border with Zimbabwe are well-known, but at least there’s something resembling a border in place.

Below via Carte Blanche:

Frontier life in parts of the Eastern Free State, where South Africa’s 900km border with Lesotho exists in all but name, has become a daily game of Russian Roulette.

In places, dilapidated fences and broken-down farm gates are all that separate the residents of farms and towns on the border from growing insecurity and incalculable losses.

With lacklustre law enforcement, farming communities are isolated and increasingly left to fend for themselves as stock thieves and criminals ride roughshod over private properties.

Derek Watts and the team decided to investigate how farmers are coping with this issue, and what it means for their daily lives:

In the wake of Horner’s murder, the likes of Bheki Cele have spoken about the need to defuse the tension in the town ahead of this Friday’s court appearance, as well as the need for more effective policing.

Those familiar with the circumstances of Horner’s murder, like farm owner Gilly Scheepers, suspect that he may have inadvertently crossed paths with the stock thieves the Carte Blanche segment speaks about.

TimesLIVE recently put together this video, which takes a closer look at the young farmer’s death and how it has affected the community:

[sources:carteblanche&timeslive]