Mchunu questions Trump’s data as figures show one farmer killed in three months

Police minister Senzo says he was baffled by US President Donald Trump’s claim of rampant attacks on farmers, as police statistics found only one farmer was killed in the third quarter of the 2024/25 financial year.

Mchunu tabled the crime statistics on Friday for October to December, which found some serious crimes, including murder and rape, had decreased in all provinces.

Murders dropped by 9.8% and rape by 3.3% while attempted sexual offences also dropped by 3.2%.

Twelve farm murders were recorded out of a total of 6,953 reported killings in that period, with one being a farmer. Five were farm dwellers, four were farm employees, one was a security guard and one was not specified.

Mchunu said the crime statistics were based on scientific evidence and it was unclear from where Trump got his information about the murders of farmers in SA.

“Farmers [being murdered]? I suppose he is referring to this one. We don’t know where the other farmers he may be referring to are. Where is that based? We don’t know if Trump is ahead of us or is saying a farm dweller is also a farmer and he is also concerned about that. Maybe he is also including the employees who are working on the farm and the security [guard]? Maybe he is concerned about that?

“But so far, these are the [statistics] and we are yet to see any authoritative figures and information from the US and the president thereof,” Mchunu said.

Livestock theft also saw a decrease of 4.5%, which was a welcome relief for farmers, communities and the agricultural sector as a whole. 

“Though the percentage appears to be relatively small, we note the outcry of communities that farm livestock, particularly in the eastern Free State, north-western parts of KwaZulu-Natal and in the northern Eastern Cape. Hence our plan to combine these three provinces in a meeting to discuss this challenge,” he said.

Murders dropped by 757 compared with the same period the previous year. Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal remain the highest contributors, accounting for 25% and 21.4%, respectively. This is followed by the Eastern Cape at 18.9% and the Western Cape at 17.4%.

While the murder rate declined, it still averaged about 75 killings a day.

“In November last year, we had a meeting with the ministry, the commissioners and deputy commissioners and provincial commissioners where we wanted absolute consensus that murder is our major concern. Over and above what we are doing, we need to strengthen and double our efforts and come up with innovative methods on cutting down this crime,” said Mchunu.

“As much as we are making progress and there is a decline, we remain concerned and the fight against criminality continues, including murders and firearms.”

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