Meet the man who quit his job to walk across SA in support of farmers
· The South African
Petrus Sitho is not a name many will know, but more than 160 000 people follow him on Facebook.
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He has walked hundreds of kilometres, camped outside the Union Buildings and phoned the presidency on camera.
His mission is one of the most contested issues in South Africa: attacks on farms.
The activist, whose full name is Petrus Phakamile Sitho, has been back in the spotlight after a brutal attack on North West cattle farmer Donovan Marx on 28 October.
Who is Petrus Sitho?
Sitho grew up on a farm in Bultfontein, a small farming town in the Free State, where his parents still live.
He has said he left a well-paid job in 2018 after feeling called by God to speak out about farm murders.
In 2020, he said he was dismissed after travelling to Senekal to support farmers following the murder of 21-year-old farm manager Brendin Horner.
On Facebook, where he describes himself as a digital creator, his bio reads: “I am here to make a difference and change the way we live.”
He regularly posts about farm attacks and interviews survivors.
He has said he believes he was the first activist in South Africa to travel around interviewing surviving farmers and farm workers.
The walks, the cross and the petition
Sitho is best known for long protest walks.
In 2021, he set out on a walk of more than 1,000km from East London towards the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
In July 2026, he passed through Bloemfontein on another 1,000km walk. More recently, he walked 129km from Frankfort to Memel in the Free State.
He often carries a white cross, and has travelled the country in a car branded “Stop Farm Murders”.
He has also said he was the first activist to debate a petition on farm killings in Parliament.
His activism has come at a cost.
He has said his campaigns have brought death threats, and that he was assaulted while camping outside the Union Buildings in 2018.
Not everyone agrees with him
Sitho’s approach divides opinion.
In August 2026, he posted a Facebook video asking the public to fund a trip to the United States, saying he wanted to carry a cross to the White House and present his cause to US President Donald Trump.
The appeal drew mixed reactions online.
He is also openly critical of government.
In an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa after the Marx attack, he wrote: “I know you do not care about farm killings or farm attacks.”
The Donovan Marx attack
Marx, 50, was attacked as he returned to his farm at Syferfontein near Ventersdorp.
Police said he was shot, stabbed and had his ears cut off. Attackers fled in his bakkie with three stolen firearms.
He survived but has since suffered a medical setback in hospital in Potchefstroom, his family said.
Police have arrested five suspects, aged 26 to 56. Four appeared in the Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court on 3 November, where prosecutors called the attack planned.
Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp called it “senseless and barbaric”.
What the numbers say
How many farm attacks happen depends on who is counting.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) quarterly crime statistics, recorded one farm murder between April and June 2026, down from six in the same period of 2025. Over the same three months, police recorded 5,427 murders across the country.
Farmer groups say official figures understate the problem:
- AfriForum recorded 184 farm attacks and 29 farm murder victims in 2025, up from 176 attacks but down from 37 murders in 2024.
- TLU SA recorded 21 farm attacks and two farm murders in August 2026 alone.
Government has also stressed that victims are not only white farm owners.
In 2025, then-police minister Senzo Mchunusaid five of the six farm murder victims in one quarter were Black, including farm workers.
Whatever the numbers, Sitho’s message is the same: rural communities feel unsafe, and he wants government to listen.
DO YOU THINK FARM ATTACKS GET ENOUGH ATTENTION IN SOUTH AFRICA?
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