“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,” DIRCO said in a recent statement.

This is after the report published by the United States Department of State last month claimed that South Africa’s human rights situation has significantly worsened over the past year.

It noted concerns regarding the signing of the Expropriation Bill, which was described as a troubling step toward land expropriation affecting White Afrikaners and further abuses against racial minorities in the country.

In January this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa promulgated the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 which states that property may not be expropriated arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest and subject to just and equitable compensation.

The report criticises the South African government for its alleged mistreatment of Afrikaner farmers, highlighting significant human rights issues. It claims it has credible reports of arbitrary or unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests or detentions, and the repression of racial minorities.

However, DIRCO said the 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 the 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 department has since cited the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) official statistics on rural safety for the fourth quarter of the 2024/25 financial year from 1 January to 31 March 2025, which they believe demonstrate this reality.

According to the figures, a total of six murder cases were reported in farming communities.

The department stated that the breakdown of the victims reveals that these crimes are not targeted against a single racial group, which includes three victims who were employees, two farmers and one victim who was a farm dweller.

“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.”

National Rural Safety Strategy

The government said it 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.”

By the end of the fourth quarter of 2024/25, the department said the country reported that 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.

In addition, the programme involves 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).

They also involve labour unions like the Food and Allied Workers Union and organisations advocating for the rights of farm workers and interest groups like AfriForum, South African Agricultural Research Institute and Stop Attacks and Farm Murders.

Government is also actively strengthening public-private partnerships through initiatives like the Eyes and Ears (E2) programme, coordinated with Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA).

According to the department, this initiative leverages the private security industry’s technological and logistical capabilities to enhance the situational awareness of the SAPS and improve 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.”

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The trio, Malesela Albert Mangena (33), Velly Segwale (44), and Lesiba Solly Segwale (44), were convicted of brutally murdering Mr. Nicky Janse Van Rensburg, the owner of Derderkraal farm outside Roedtan, in a violent and planned assault that had left a community traumatized and left the farming community living in fear. Their sentencing – a range of counts from conspiracy to commit murder to unlawful possession of firearms and aggravated robbery – is likewise being thought of as a milestone in holding farm attackers accountable.

The court sentenced life for murder and aggravated robbery, and 10 – 15 years for all other charges. All the sentences run concurrently. The three men have also been banned from possession of firearms.

Warming up to the sentence, Limpopo Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, said:

“This sentence will serve as a deterrent to those who contemplate criminal activity, especially those who live in target-rich environments such as our rural areas. We trust and hope that this sentence will bring closure to the victim’s family. It is also a testament to the diligence and commitment of our detectives, especially Sergeant Mooka and his team.”

Farm murder statistics paint grim picture

Based on AfriForum’s 2024 Farm Attack Report, there were 333 farm attacks and 55 farm murders in South Africa in 2024 alone – a mere drop from the 63 murders that were recorded in 2023, but still very alarming. Limpopo Province, where the Van Rensburg murder took place, was responsible for more than 14% of these incidents, making it one of the provinces most plagued by this scourge.

The Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa (TAU SA) reports that more than 1,800 farm-related murders have occurred over the past two decades, with many attacks marked by extreme violence. While some analysts argue that these crimes reflect broader rural insecurity, farming communities regardless of race – have consistently called for stronger protection and policy intervention.

A reaffirmed and targeted commitment by SAPS and government

The convictions of Van Rensburg’s killers for their guilty verdicts are not only being framed as an individual courtroom success but as part of a broader government strategic shift toward the prosecution of violent rural crime. Among the drivers of this increased focus are Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who in recent months has stepped up his assertions on rural safety as a national priority for policing.

In an earlier media briefing, Minister Mchunu acknowledged the historic under-resourcing of rural communities and urged “a decisive and intelligent policing strategy” to protect farmers and rural dwellers from what he termed “systematic and targeted criminality”.

“It is not acceptable that the people who provide sustenance for this country have to live in fear,” Mchunu said during a Rural Safety Imbizo in Mpumalanga in March 2025.

“We are faced with a trend of rural violence that must be broken, dismantled, and defeated – and we are now moving from rhetoric to action.”

In line with this, Mchunu made a multi-pronged proposal to make rural policing more modern and increase visibility in rural agricultural communities. This includes establishment of new Rural Safety Units whose specific function is to protect outlying farms and farm employees; Drone and CCTV monitoring connected to neighborhood policing stations to protect wide, exposed agricultural routes; Requirement for SAPS to partner with community safety forums and private farm watches, boosting intelligence gathering and rapid response and involvement and deployment of 1,500 trained rural safety officers by 2025 end, focusing on firearm competence, local knowledge, and multilingual skills.

Addressing Parliament during his 2025 Budget Vote Speech, Mchunu highlighted that farm murders should be addressed not only as “random acts of violence”, but as crimes which have national economic and social consequences.

“Our farmers – black and white – feed the nation, export our produce, and underpin thousands of rural jobs,” he said.

Their safety is non-negotiable. We lose not only lives when they are lost to violence – we lose livelihoods, stability, and food security. This government will not sit idly by and allow that.”

Mchunu further called for the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) and the Department of Justice to prioritize rural violence cases and appoint senior prosecutors.

His call does appear to have been heeded in the Van Rensburg case, where the concerted, timely action on the part of the detectives and the prosecution yielded tight evidence and a conviction.

The Minister has committed quarterly media attention to farm attack investigations, and he has committed to chairing a National Rural Safety Summit in August 2025, at which stakeholders throughout the nation will review progress and make further recommendations for innovations.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, during a May 2025 food security summit, said:

“Farmers are not only landowners – they are the backbone of our agricultural economy. Any danger to their lives is a danger to South Africa’s future. We will not rest until every rural community feels safe.”

Towards a safer countryside for all

This historic conviction is not only justice for the one family but a beacon of hope to thousands who reside in rural South Africa. It sends a strong message: those who victimise farm communities will be brought before the full force of the law.

The case also shows the role of cooperation between community members, dedicated SAPS officers, and the justice system. As a result of sustained pressure from civil society and growing international interest, South Africa appears to be proceeding in a realistic manner towards the resolution of the complex problem of rural and farm crime.

As hunger grips the globe and economic instability remains an affliction upon it, the safety of South Africa’s farmers – black and white, commercial and subsistence – is not merely a national duty but an issue of worldwide urgency.

The post Major SAPS win in ongoing fight to end farm murders appeared first on ProtectionWeb.

“The history of farm murders in the country has always been distorted and reported in an unbalanced way; the truth is that farm murders have always included African people in more numbers,” Mchunu said.

Mchunu made the remarks, when he was presenting the fourth quarter crime statistics of the previous financial year (1 January 2025 – 31 March 2025) in Pretoria, on Friday 23 May.

The report showed a notable decrease in farm attacks, with six incidents recorded in the fourth quarter, compared to 12 in the previous quarter.

The victims included two farm owners, two farm employees, one farm manager, and one farm dweller.

While the South African Police Service (SAPS) does not categorise crime statistics by race, Mchunu addressed the racial aspect in response to recent claims of a “White genocide” in the country.

“The two farm owners that were murdered during the fourth quarter were African and not White. Further to that, the two farm employees and one farm manager were also African – it is the one farm dweller that was White.

“Last quarter, we reported that a total of 12 farm murders had been reported, with one farm owner having been murdered. Notable progress has been made in respect of investigations into these cases, and a number of arrests have been made,” Mchunu said.

Mchunu reiterated the SAPS’s commitment to prioritising all types of crimes with urgency; as well as to conduct thorough investigations to ensure that justice is ultimately served.

He further highlighted the government’s commitment to the National Rural Safety Strategy, which aims to create a safe and secure environment in rural areas.

“We have appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee multiple times to account for our efforts. The National Rural Safety Strategy is designed to create a safe and secure environment in rural areas, and we are committed to fully implementing it.

“As from this year, when we release the first quarter results, we will include a number of other categories of crime in the country, to show a fuller picture. For an example, killings in rural and urban areas, instead of just on commercial farms, but for now, our statistics are based on commercial farms,” the Minister said.

Farm murders affect all race groups, though public discourse has often focused disproportionately on white farmers, particularly due to the “white genocide” narrative, which has been widely amplified by international figures and local interest groups.

According to official data, farm murders account for only a tiny fraction of South Africa’s overall murder rate. For example, between April 2022 and March 2023, there were 51 murders on farms out of a total of 27 494 murders nationwide. This means that, while farm murders are brutal and traumatic, they are not statistically more common than other types of violent crime.

Most farm attacks are motivated by robbery, with perpetrators seeking cash, firearms, or other valuables. There is little evidence to support the idea that farm attacks are primarily racially or politically motivated, though isolated incidents with possible racial motives do occur. The majority of murder victims in South Africa—whether on farms or elsewhere—are poor, under- or unemployed young Black males.

No land grabbing in the country

Mchunu also sought to dispel misconceptions about so-called “land grabbing” in South Africa.

While confirming that land invasions do occur, he rejected the notion that they reflect government policy.

“Land invasions are not government policy but are by and large acts of desperation for land by African people who find themselves landless and in need to settle. It is sporadic and it remains unlawful, hence the cases and investigations thereof,” he explained.

Mchunu stressed that the policy of expropriation without compensation is a lawful and systematic effort to resolve the issue of landlessness.

“My colleague in the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, [Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso], has expressed concern about the misuse of the term ‘land grab’ and will provide further clarification next week,” Mchunu said.

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