SAPS to verify farm murder claims after AfriForum submission, says Mchunu

AfriForum

Cape Town — Police Minister Senzo Mchunu says his department is investigating farm murders and the killings of farm owners, following a formal submission by AfriForum.

Mchunu and AfriForum have been at loggerheads with each other since Mchunu revealed the police’s third-quarter crime statistics for 2024/25, which showed decreases in murder rates. AfriForum challenged the legitimacy and accuracy of the results and said Mchunu failed to acknowledge the farm murders in South Africa.

In response, Mchunu challenged AfriForum to present evidence to him of these alleged farm murders.

“Any mention of dispute is therefore treated by us in a very serious light. We challenge Afriforum, as soon as they land back in South Africa, to provide us with evidence of their mentioned incidents, which they claim are well documented,” he said.

In a statement, Mchunu said SAPS would be verifying the farm murder statistics following a submission by AfriForum.

He said the SAPS Crime Registrar has begun verifying the cases contained in AfriForum’s submission. The preliminary findings found just one farm owner murder reported in the official crime statistics,

“While verification processes are still ongoing, no additional murders of farm owners have been identified beyond what was originally reported by SAPS. Further updates would be provided once the verification process was completed,” he said.

He said SAPS would continue to engage with all interested parties to enhance crime prevention efforts and ensure that statistical reporting remains reliable and credible.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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