The so-called land question has been a decades-long dilemma for South Africa. A new law seeks to right some of the wrongs of apartheid but has prompted claims from critics that it discriminates against White farmers.

Rural violence is a huge problem in South Africa that deserves a strong response. But white people are not the only casualties.

A law that allows the government to confiscate land has reignited racial tensions that have dogged Africa's southernmost tip ever since European settlers began arriving nearly four centuries ago.