A South African wine merchant who spoke out against attacks on white farmers was found dead after being shot while dining with family and friends.
Stefan Smit, 62, had been openly critical of the threat of land grabs on his property - a large estate in Stellenbosch, Western Cape - South Africa's most famous wine region. It was a murder seemingly fueled by a land dispute created when a squat straddling Smit's Louisenhof Estate was set up, expanding into a vast settlement.
The farmer had previously complained about how citizens from a nearby township had begun erecting shacks at the back of his farm, culminating in him getting an injunction to prevent people from encroaching on his space.
Smit was killed when four men entered his vineyard through an unlocked back door and shot him dead. His wife and a family friend managed to survive the attack.
The same dispute saw the murder of Annette Kennealy, 51, a farmer activist from Limpopo province who was beaten to death with a hammer and iron rod in late May.
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 to stop it. Kennealy's and Smit's murders comes as the government, led by Cyril Ramaphosa, pushes ahead with plans to alter South Africa's constitution to allow land to be seized from farmers without having to compensate them.
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