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An Historical Inquiry Into Agrarian Reform, Rural Oppression and Farm Attacks in the Midlands of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

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An Historical Inquiry Into Agrarian Reform, Rural Oppression and Farm Attacks in the Midlands of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa CULTIVATING CONTENTION: AN HISTORICAL INQUIRY INTO AGRARIAN REFORM, RURAL OPPRESSION AND FARM ATTACKS IN THE MIDLANDS OF KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA by Barb Pearce Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August 2016 © Copyright by Barb Pearce, 2016 Table of Contents ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................................................v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED............................................................................................................vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..........................................................................................................................vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................1 Defining Farm Attacks......................................................................................................................4 Potential Motives of Farm Attacks..................................................................................................7 Literature Review: Farm Attacks....................................................................................................12 Historiography...................................................................................................................................21 Methodology......................................................................................................................................31 Chapter Outline................................................................................................................................36 CHAPTER TWO: “THE WHITES TOOK OUR LAND AND FENCED IT:” THE DEVELOPMENT OF WHITE COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE AND AFRICAN DISPOSSESSION, 1838 TO 1948................................................................................................................42 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................42 White Settlement in the Colony of Natal......................................................................................44 The Location System........................................................................................................................47 The Independent African Peasantry..............................................................................................49 The Growth of White Agriculture and the Decline of the African Peasantry........................53 Labour Relations on White-Owned Farms..................................................................................57 Colonial Justice and Rural Policing................................................................................................60 The 1913 Natives Land Act............................................................................................................64 Rural Protest and the ICU...............................................................................................................67 ii Farm Labour Shortage and the 1936 Native Trust and Land Act............................................70 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................74 CHAPTER THREE: “WE WOULD BE EVICTED FOR NO REASON:” APARTHEID, THE FARM LABOUR PROBLEM AND FORCED REMOVALS, 1948 TO 1990........................................................................................................................76 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................76 The Election of the National Party and Apartheid Legislation.................................................78 Commercialization and Mechanization of Agriculture...............................................................84 Evictions of Labour Tenants..........................................................................................................86 Working Conditions on Farms.......................................................................................................91 Black Spot Removals and the Consolidation of KwaZulu........................................................98 The Rise in Farm Attacks in the 1980s.......................................................................................104 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................107 CHAPTER FOUR: “THEY WANT TO DRIVE US FROM OUR LAND:” CONTESTING LAND RIGHTS IN THE DEMOCRATIC ERA....................................................108 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................108 Land Reform in the Democratic Era...........................................................................................112 Restitution........................................................................................................................................114 Redistribution..................................................................................................................................117 Challenges with Land Reform......................................................................................................119 White Farmers’ Perspectives.........................................................................................................127 Farmworker, Tenant and Neighbour Reactions to Land Reform..........................................139 Assessing Possible ANC Involvement in Farm Attacks..........................................................150 Conclusion......................................................................................................................................152 CHAPTER FIVE: “EVEN WITH DEMOCRACY, WE ARE STILL OPPRESSED:” POST-APARTHEID LABOUR LEGISLATION, TENURE REFORM AND RURAL RACE RELATIONS.........................................................................................................156 iii Introduction.....................................................................................................................................156 Tenure Reform................................................................................................................................159 Labour Laws....................................................................................................................................166 Implementation of Tenure Reform and Labour Laws.............................................................169 Midlands Farmers’ Perspectives...................................................................................................177 Farmworker, Dweller and Neighbour Perspectives..................................................................191 Assessing the Potential of Personal Grievance as Motive in Farm Attacks..........................202 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................211 CHAPTER SIX: “THEY’LL KILL YOU FOR FIVE RAND:” FEAR, CRIME AND POLICING SINCE 1990....................................................................................214 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................214 The Rise in Violent Crime Since 1990........................................................................................216 Post-Apartheid Police Reform.....................................................................................................220 The Rise in Farm Attacks and the Government’s Response...................................................224 Robbery as the Primary Motive in Farm Attacks......................................................................231 Police, Rural Security and Farm Attacks....................................................................................241 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................258 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................260 BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................................................................271 iv Abstract One of the most shocking post-apartheid developments for South Africa’s farming community has been the drastic increase in violent crime directed against white farmers – a phenomenon commonly known as farm attacks. The possible motives driving this violence have been hotly debated; some white farmers believe farm attacks are an attempt to force the return of land to the black majority, while others argue they are simply robberies. This study pursues an historical approach to understanding this violence. Using more than two hundred oral interviews collected in the Midlands region of KwaZulu-Natal Province, this study concludes that although
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