Misleading Video Stirs Old Pain for South African Family

In a surprising move, a former US president recently showed a video to the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa. The video was meant to support a claim of a so-called "genocide" against white farmers in South Africa. The video showed a road lined with white crosses, which the former president claimed were burial sites for over a thousand white farmers. However, this claim was far from the truth. The video was actually a memorial for a specific couple, Glen and Vida Rafferty, who were tragically murdered on their farm in 2020. Their son, Nathan Rafferty, now living in Brisbane, Australia, explained that the crosses were erected by the local community as a tribute and a protest. They did not mark graves, and no bodies were buried along that road. The former president's mistake was not just about the video. He also showed a printout of a blog post with a photo from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, claiming it was from South Africa. This mix-up added to the confusion and misinformation.

Nathan Rafferty was shocked and hurt when he saw the video being used in this way. It brought back painful memories of his parents' murder. The assailants had planned to rob the Raffertys, but in the end, they only took a car and a few items of little value. Three of the murderers were tried, and two were sentenced to life imprisonment. Rafferty does not believe in the "genocide" narrative pushed by the former president. However, he acknowledges that more needs to be done to prevent and condemn brutal attacks. He personally chose not to continue the family's farming tradition due to the dangers involved. South Africa is known for having high crime rates, and the government does not deny this. In response to the former president's claims, the South African police released quarterly crime statistics. From January to March 2025, six people were killed on farms, and only one of them was white. This data challenges the narrative of a targeted genocide against white farmers. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu clarified that farm murders in South Africa have always included people of all races. He also addressed the Rafferty case, stating that the crosses were a symbol of protest and not graves. He regretted that the facts were twisted to fit a false narrative about crime in South Africa.

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