The Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu has responded strongly to Afriforum’s challenge of the recently released third-quarter crime statistics, particularly their claims regarding farm murders. The statistics released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 21 February 2025, cover the period from 1 October 2024 to 31 December 2024.
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While some crimes have shown a decrease, others, including assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, malicious damage to property, and possession of illegal firearms, have seen an increase.
AfriForum, a civil rights group known for its advocacy on farm-related crime, disputed the reported figures- citing that five farm owners were murdered in the quarter, contradicting SAPS data, which records only one such murder.
In his statement released on the 28th of February, Mchunu dismissed these claims and challenged AfriForum to present concrete evidence.
One of the decent things that any organization worth its salt or any decent individual would do is to put their case on the table so that everybody can appreciate their facts and thoughts, but most importantly , the basis for argument and dispute in this stance.
He noted that crime statistics, especially murder figures are a grave matter treated with sanctity and respect and not for political posturing or any other mileage. The Minister accused AfriForum of perpetuating outdated narratives that seek to inflate the perception of white farmers being disproportionately targeted.
Afriforum’s dispute smirks of their feeling to take an ‘Orwellian’ approach to this subject, wherein there must always be a picture of high numbers of murders of white farmers, as was the practice in the past.
Mchunu urged the group to present documented evidence of their claims upon their return from a trip to the United States. He also appealed to the South African public to move beyond outdated assumptions that equate farm murders exclusively with attacks on white farmers.
The ongoing debate over crime statistics points out the broader tensions between government authorities and civil society groups regarding crime reporting and rural safety.
