Government Sets Record Straight on Farm Crime

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) committed to updating its initial statement on the 2024 US Human Rights Report, specifically its commentary on the safety situation in South Africa’s rural and farming communities. The South African Government wishes to set the record straight on this matter and to clarify what we believe is an inaccurate and distorted account of the facts.

Our nation’s foreign policy is guided by a commitment to a rules-based international system based on international law and a respect for human rights, as enshrined in our Constitution. It is within this framework that we address all forms of crime, which remain a significant challenge for all of our citizens, regardless of race or location. The suggestion that these crimes represent a concerted practice of racially motivated attacks, as insinuated by the US report, is not borne out by the facts.

The South African Police Service’s official statistics on rural safety for the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 Financial Year (1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025) demonstrate this reality. A total of 6 murder cases were reported in farming communities.

A breakdown of the victims reveals that these crimes are not targeted against a single racial group:

• 3 victims were employees
• 1 victim was a farm dweller
• 2 victims were farmers.

These figures underscore that violent crime in rural areas affects everyone who lives and works on farms and related rural areas. While the loss of any life is a tragedy, these statistics do not reveal a pattern of action driven by inflammatory racial rhetoric against a specific community.

The government continues to implement a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to rural safety. Our National Rural Safety Strategy is a priority and is implemented in police station areas that serve rural and farming communities. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2024/2025, a total of 893 out of 900 identified rural police stations (99%) had fully implemented the strategy.

This initiative focuses on enhancing police capacity and fostering community involvement with key stakeholders, including:

• Traditional leaders
• Commercial farmers associations including the African Farmers Association of South Africa and the National African Farmers’ Union, Agri-SA and its provincial structures and the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAUSA)
• Labour unions like the Food and Allied Workers Union and organisations advocating for the rights of farm workers
• Interest groups like AfriForum, South African Agricultural Research Institute and Stop Attacks and Farm Murders.

Furthermore, we are actively strengthening public-private partnerships through initiatives like the Eyes and Ears (E2) program, coordinated with Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA). This initiative leverages the private security industry’s technological and logistical capabilities to enhance the situational awareness of the South African Police Service and improve our response to rural crime.

South Africa remains committed to a transparent and collaborative approach to addressing crime. We stand ready to engage with any nation on matters of mutual interest through established diplomatic channels, and we will continue to provide accurate, data-driven information to counter any misrepresentations of our domestic situation. There is a focus on the safety and security of all South Africans.

Per Kind Favour of APO

Africa Fact: Many southern Africans have indigenous and pre-colonial words for ‘gun’. Scholars have generally been reluctant to investigate or explain this fact.