Six murders on farms were recorded, according to the fourth-quarter crime statistics.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has sought to debunk the claims of white genocide in South Africa, with the latest crime statistics revealing that two black farm owners were killed.
On Friday, Mchunu released the fourth-quarter crime statistics for the 2024/2025 financial year, covering the period from January to March 2025.
The statistics indicated that there was a decline in some categories of crime.
All provinces, except the Northern Cape, recorded decreases in murder incidents.
However, sexual offences, including rape and contact sexual offences, along with commercial crime, have increased.
Mchunu addresses white genocide claims
Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria, Mchunu addressed the claims of genocide against white people in South Africa, saying this agenda got “forcefully” spread in “distinctly foreign and strange manner”.
“We have no respect for this genocide story at all. It is totally unfounded and unsubstantiated,” he said on Friday.
The minister referred to the videos played during a meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and United States (US) President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington D.C.
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One of the videos depicted a road filled with multiple crosses related to farm murders and attacks.
Mchunu explained that the crosses were on a dirt road in Newcastle and Normandien in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and dismissed suggestions that they were grave sites.
He said the crosses were in protest to the murders of Glen and Vida Rafferty, who were killed by armed men on their Hanover farm in 2020.
“They were sadly murdered by criminals in their home. The incident sparked a very strong protest by the farming community. The crosses symbolised killings on farms over years, they are not graves,” Mchunu said.
Watch the briefing below:
The minister added that three suspects were arrested and sentenced for the murders and they are in jail.
“This debunks the claim that nothing gets done when crime is committed.”
He conceded that while the crime levels in South Africa were high, he emphasised that this affected all residents.
“Crime cuts across all divides. We are currently intensifying the fight against crime and criminals.”
Farm murders
Mchunu said the police will continue to implement national rural safety strategy to fight crimes such as farm murders.
“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.”
He said in the fourth-quarter, six murders on farms were recorded.
READ MORE: Mchunu defends crime stats, dares AfriForum to prove farm murders claims
This included two farm owners, one farm dweller, two farm employees, and one farm manager.
“In principle, we do not categorise people by race, but in the context of claims of genocide of white people, we need to unpack the killings in this category.
“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.”
‘Saps prioritises all types of crimes’
Mchunu further said 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.”
He added: “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.
“We do want to assure South Africans that the Saps prioritises all types of crimes and conducts thorough investigations to ensure that justice is ultimately served.”
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