White South African farm activist is beaten to death at her home in horrifying hammer attack
- Annette Kennealy, 51, was beaten to death on her farm in Limpopo
- A male suspect, 40, has been arrested and will appear before court
- Kennealy was publicly outspoken about attacks on white Afrikaner farmers
A South African farmer activist who spoke out against attacks on white farmers has been found dead.
Annette Kennealy, 51, was beaten to death in Limpopo province. She was found in a pool of blood by a family member.
Kennealy was attacked on her own farm in the town of Louis Trichardt where she was staying with an employee.
Annette Kennealy, 51, a farmer activist from Limpopo province was beaten to death with a hammer and iron rod
She is believed to have been killed with a hammer and iron rod, according to Ian Cameron, head of the Community Safety division of AfriForum, a group that represents white Afrikaners.
A police spokesperson, Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe,said: ‘Family members tried to call her without success, until one of them went to investigate. On arrival he found the deceased inside the house.’
Another police spokesperson, Col Moatshe, said that a 40-year-old male suspect has been arrested and will soon appear before the Louis Trichardt Magistrate Court.
Kennealy was a publicly outspoken supporter of the white Afrikaner community and former councillor with South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance party
Kennealy made one last Facebook post about farmer attacks before she was murdered
Kennealy was a publicly outspoken supporter of the Afrikaner community and a former councillor with the opposition Democratic Alliance party.
In her last Facebook post, she shared a link alleging that 10 farm attacks, including one murder, had been reported in four days.
South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, has denounced the violence against farmers, but farming groups still accuse the party of not doing enough.
The attack took place on the woman’s own farm in the town of Louis Trichardt where she was staying with an employee
While expected to rise, farm murders are currently at a 20-year low.
Transvaal Agricultural Union, a group representing the interests of farmers, recorded 84 farm murders in the 2017 calendar year. Of these, 59 victims were white farmers.
A further 15 people, including eight white farmers, were killed on farms in the first three months of 2018.
White farmers are not the only victims. In one notable 2017 case, Matlhomola Mosweu, 16, was found dead after being accused of stealing a sunflower from a white-owned farm, close to the town of Coligny in South Africa’s north west.
According to a police spokesperson, Col Moatshe, a 40-year-old male suspect had been arrested and will soon appear before the Louis Trichardt Magistrate Court