SA Farm Attack Victims Head to Washington for Vigil Where 3,000 White Crosses Will Honour the Dead

• Three South Africans who survived or lost family in farm attacks will travel to Washington, DC, to take part in a conference and public vigil
• On 26 September 2026, 3,000 white crosses will be displayed on the National Mall in memory of those killed in farm attacks in South Africa
• The event, organised by Lex Libertas and the New York Young Republican Club, will also examine race-based legislation and threats to property rights

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.

SOUTH AFRICA — Three survivors and bereaved family members of South African farm attacks will address an international audience in Washington, DC on 25 and 26 September 2026, as part of the White Cross Project programme organised by the Pretoria-based think tank and advocacy group Lex Libertas.

Amanda Platt, Heidie Taljaard and Leon Lotz will each give testimony at the White Cross Project Conference on 25 September, before joining a vigil the following day on the National Mall, where 3 000 white crosses will be erected to commemorate those killed in farm attacks across South Africa.

The 25 September conference will cover political incitement, rural safety, race-based legislation and threats to property rights. Lex Libertas has indicated that most of the other speakers have already been announced. Ernst Roets, Executive Director of Lex Libertas, said the conference was about more than legal arguments or statistics.

"It is essential that international audiences also hear directly from people whose lives have been changed permanently by the violence we are discussing. These are not abstract ideas or numbers. They are lived experiences involving real people, families and communities," Roets said.

The White Cross Project is a joint initiative between Lex Libertas and the New York Young Republican Club. The event follows sustained international attention on South Africa's farm attack crisis, a subject that has drawn comment from the United States government, which has previously offered refugee status to Afrikaners. The South African government has disputed claims that a genocide was taking place in the country.

The three survivors and their stories

Platt survived an attack on a farm outside Pietermaritzburg in August 2023, during which six armed men forced entry into her home. She was struck with a crowbar and stabbed with a spear. One attacker shouted "Kill the Boer" while attempting to drag her through a doorway. Despite her injuries, she escaped, raised the alarm, and returned to the property because her husband, Tim, was still inside.

Taljaard lost her parents, Dan and Breggie Brand, and her sister Elzabie, when all three were abducted from their smallholding near Hartswater in the Northern Cape in July 2020. Their bodies were discovered in the veld. Taljaard has since written about her experience of trauma, grief and forgiveness, and will speak on the lasting impact farm murders have on surviving families.

Lotz and his family have endured multiple attacks over several years. During a 2010 incident at his in-laws' farm near Parys, eight attackers murdered his father-in-law, severely assaulted his mother-in-law and raped his wife, Adel, in front of their children. Lotz was on the phone with his family as the attack unfolded while he rushed to the scene.

Other articles about farm attacks

• Four masked gunmen dressed in police uniforms stormed a Limpopo farm and held the owner captive for three hours.
• A husband and wife were violently assaulted by three armed suspects inside their home at Neethlingshof Farm in Stellenbosch on 24 July.
• A 76-year-old man was injured during a violent farm attack in Kameeldrift East, Pretoria, after armed suspects allegedly broke into his home.

Source: Briefly News