CAPE TOWN, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people gathered in Cape Town on Monday to observe Black Monday, an event dedicated to farmers who have fallen victim to rampant crime.
Wearing black clothes, protesters began to converge at Cape Town Stadium under blazing sun in the morning. As more people arrived, the Helen Suzman Boulevard became gridlocked.
Many motorbikes, cars and even tractors joined the protesters, with a police helicopter hovered overhead.
The participants kneeled on the ground to pray for the murdered farmers and held each other's hands in solidarity.
"Enough is enough," the protesters chanted.
Black Monday was launched in Cape Town by a group called "Enough is Enough" after the murder of 47-year-old farmer Joubert Conradie on his farm in Klapmuts near Cape Town last Tuesday.
Joubert's widow, Marlene Conradie, came to Cape Town to take part in the protest.
"I don't want another family to go through this," she told reporters, saying she was overwhelmed by the support from the protesters.
Organizer Daniel Briers said the event is designed to forge unity among South Africans.
"This is not the end," he said. "This is only the beginning."
One protester, who only gave his first name, Lousef, said police are not doing enough to protect the farmers.
Food security is at risk as more and more South African farmers are killed, he said.
"South Africans must awaken to the rising farm murders," Lousef said. "Crime is not only a threat to farmers but also to every South African."
In addition to Cape Town, Black Monday was also observed in other cities, including Johannesburg, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth, where protesters barricaded highways with tractors and cars.
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula called for a non-violent and lawful protest for those taking part in the action.
Mbalula warned that police will not tolerate lawlessness and that "any person who engages in conduct outside the perimeters of the law will face the consequences of their actions."
As the nationwide protests went on, a 73-year-old man was hacked to death on a farm in Vryheid, northern KwaZulu-Natal, police said.
This further highlights the seriousness of farm murders in South Africa, which has one of the highest crime rates in the world.
Since the beginning of 2017, over 340 farm attacks have been committed in the country, and at least 70 people have been murdered, according to lobby group AgriForum.
The world's average murder rate is 6.2 per 100,000 people per year, while that of South Africa is 34.1 per 100,000, the group said.
The ratio at which commercial farmers in South Africa are being killed has been calculated at an extreme of 156 per 100,000 per year, AgriForum said.
