Official South African Farm Murder and Attack Stats Released by Police Chief Cele
The South African Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, and the Police Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, have released the latest official statistics concerning farm murders and farm attacks in South Africa… after 11 years of the government’s silence on the matter. According to the Freedom Front Plus Leader Dr Pieter Groenewald, these statistics have finally been […]
The South African Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, and the Police Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, have released the latest official statistics concerning farm murders and farm attacks in South Africa… after 11 years of the government’s silence on the matter.
According to the Freedom Front Plus Leader Dr Pieter Groenewald, these statistics have finally been released because of continued pressure from FF Plus.
“The last time that these statistics were disclosed was in 2007,” said Dr Groenewald in a press statement. “The FF Plus, however, continued to request the figures by way of parliamentary questions… and answers have finally been provided.”
The FF Plus asked for the number of farm attacks and murders that have taken place in South Africa since 2012.
Dr Groenewald said that the written response shows that attacks increased last year (2017/18) to a total of 561; whilst there was a decrease in attacks over the previous three years.
“The figures show that over the last six years since 2012, there were 3059 attacks altogether (on average, that is 509,8 per year) in which 338 people were killed (on average, that is 56,3 per year),” said Dr Groenewald.
According to the police chief’s response, most farm attacks took place in the North West province (722 attacks) and Gauteng (644 attacks).
The province with the highest number of farm murders during this time, however, is Gauteng (69 murders) and then the North West and KwaZulu-Natal (61 murders each).
Dr Groenewald said: “If these figures are compared to other available sources, then they seem to be fairly reliable.
“It is regrettable that these statistics were swept under the rug under the administration of former President Jacob Zuma.
“Without the necessary statistics on crime, one is left groping in the dark and then it is not possible to take meaningful action and implement preventative measures.”
He said the FF Plus will continue with its action plan to inform the international community of the exploits and particularly the cruelty of murders in South Africa by actively liaising with, amongst others, the European Parliament and governments as well as the United Nations (UN) through the FF Plus’s UNPO membership.
“In this regard, statistics on farm attacks and murders released by the government will surely carry more weight than the statistics of other institutions,” he said.