Vocal critic of white South Africa’s land reallocation program was “eating dinner with [family] and friends when four masked men came into the house, and shot him” around 7 p.m. on Sunday 

Wine farmer Stefan Smit, 62, had been openly critical of threat of land grabs on his property in Western Cape, SA

Smit, 62, who spoke out about land grabs was assassinated  just weeks after white landowner was beaten to death

Annette Kennealy, 51, a farmer activist from South Africa’s Limpopo province was beaten to death with a hammer and iron rod in late May

Latest victim Smit, the owner of an estate in Western Cape, the country’s most famous wine region, previously complained about how citizens from a township invaded his land

His wife and a family friend survived the attack

72 percent of land in SA is owned by white people, who make up just nine percent of the population, a situation the govt is seeking to address with a controversial new land reform policy which is expected to run into legal headwinds

The country’s parliament by a vote of voted 209-91 in December, passed a constitutional amendment  to allow land to be expropriated without compensation in some circumstances

Smit’s family has owned and operated the Louisenhof Wine Estate in Western Cape, South Africa, for generations

The same dispute saw the recent 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.
The apparent targeted murder of Smit, a prominent white farmer whose family has grown grapes for generations, immediately drew strong reactions from groups representing white farmers and white-minority rights.
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.
The deaths of Smit and  Kennealy’s comes as South Africa’s government, led by president Cyril Ramaphosa, forges ahead with plans to alter the country’s constitution to permit land to be seized from farmers without having to compensate them.

Annette Kennealy, 51, a farmer activist from Limpopo province was beaten to death with a hammer and iron rod. One of her male employees has been arrested in connection with the murder

The victims, both white farm owners, were vocal opponents of the proposed land reform policy. The ripple effect of the new government posture was seen last August, when people from a nearby black township flooded Smit’s land, building shacks on it to the point where he ‘couldn’t breathe.’
Zola Ndlasi, the township leader who organized the occupation of Smit’s land, said there are 2,000 shacks there now.
‘I’m not happy,’ Ndlasi said about the Smit’s death. ‘He’s a human being. No one is allowed to kill anybody. ‘
President Ramaphosa has said that his much-focused-on land reform is necessary to compensate for the ‘historical imbalance’ caused by apartheid and colonialism.
Under Section 25 of the old constitution, citizens were granted the right to property which could be expropriated – but only upon payment of compensation.

The power of government to seize land was also limited, meaning that the majority of farmland remained in white hands – despite the majority of South Africa’s population being black.
According to a 2017 census, 72 percent of land was owned by white people, who made up just nine percent of the population.
However, in December last year parliament voted 209-91 to amend the constitution to say that land could be expropriated without anything being paid in certain circumstances.

The govt of SA president Cyril Ramaphosa [photo], is pushing new land reform policy with constitutional amendments to allow land expropriation, in certain circumstances, without compensation 

Ministers are now preparing a series of ‘test cases’ for the courts, despite warnings that it could take a decade or more to resolve the issue.
The ANC has sought to reassure people inside and outside the country that its efforts to ensure the majority of black South Africans have better access to land – a long-standing party promise – will be legal and should not be cause for alarm.
Ramaphosa has said everyone should ‘relax’ about the land reform process and that it would ‘end up very well’.
Political parties and NGOs have criticized the government’s attempts to change land reform measures.
The issue did not appear to play well for Ramaphosa at South Africa’s recent election, the first since he seized power from predecessor Jacob Zuma, which the ruling ANC party won, but with reduced majority.
Records show that 59 victims of the the recorded 84 farm murders in the 2017 calendar year, were white farmers, according to Transvaal Agricultural Union, a group representing the interests of farmers.
A further 15 people, including eight white farmers, were killed on farms in the first three months of 2018.