How world sees SA: Beyerskloof neighbour murder underscores land tensions

The wealthy vineyards of Stellenbosch have hit international headlines – this time not for their award-winning wine, but because of the killing of a wine farmer. The New York Times positions the murder of Stefan Smit, whose farm neighbours world-famous Beyerskloof, as at the centre of land tensions between the ANC and white farmers. Smit had received death threats weeks before a calculated, cold-blooded attack in front of friends. This was soon after he signed a deal to hand over his land to the municipality. Police say his killing may have nothing to do with political tensions in the area. But The New York Times headline leaves the impression that Smit is the victim of unresolved challenges about land ownership: "South African Wine Farmer in Land Dispute Is Shot Dead". – Jackie Cameron

By Thulasizwe Sithole

The murder of a South African farmer has been highlighted in The New York Times to illustrate the tensions in the country's land reform challenges.

The leading media outlet tells how South African farmer Stefan Smit whose vineyard in the Stellenbosch wine region had been occupied by shack dwellers since last year has been shot and killed in his home. The murder, it says, has heightened tensions amid a contentious national debate over the ownership of land.

In an email to a local news organisation, Pieter Haasbroek, a friend of Mr. Smit, wrote: "They were busy eating dinner with friends when four masked men came into the house. They shot Smit dead. What we feared came true."

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