South African Communist Party

SACP condemns government victimisation of Izwi Labantu Forum and disruption of its work

Thursday, 12 February 2026:- Following the successful Izwi Labantu Forum march to the Union Buildings on 29 January 2026 and the progressive meeting held on 6 February 2026 after the submission of a memorandum of demands on behalf of black farmers, it has become evident that certain senior government officials have initiated actions intended to undermine this progress. As the SACP, we joined the march on 29 January and supported the demands raised by the farmers.

These actions follow a divide-and-rule approach, intimidation,  isolation and victimisation of individual farmers represented by the Izwi Labantu Forum, as well as attempts to defame the character of some of these farmers in order to water down their demands.

The government, led by the Presidency, and Izwi Labantu Forum have been engaging in the content and demands of the farmers. Both Izwi Labantu and the government had released statements outlining the broad parameters of their cooperation to meet and respond to the demands of Izwi Labantu and the farmers. Indeed, work in this regard has begun and holds promise.

However, the public spat initiated from a particular Chief Director of the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal Province reflects a reality of a ministry seeking to spoil and undermine the ongoing negotiations between government and Izwi Labantu.

The isolation and victimisation of a KwaZulu-Natal farmer represented by Izwi Labantu, carried out by senior government officials through social media platforms, is a matter of serious concern to us as the Party.

We strongly condemn the use of an individual’s government-related matters on a personal media platform in an attempt to intimidate, influence processes between government and Izwi Labantu for the benefit of certain government-linked individuals and vested interests. This petty action reflects government officials and ministry that act in bad faith. We call for a decisive resolution of this matter, the cessation of victimisation of the farmers and resumption of objective engagement between the parties in the interests of the aggrieved farmers represented by Izwi Labantu Forum and the public at large.

--
---
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA