AS TENSIONS escalated, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has thrown down the gauntlet to AfriForum, ordering the controversial Afrikaner rights group to provide evidence contrary to the crime statistics on the so-called farm murders.
According to crime statistics for the third quarter (1 October 2024 - 31 December 24), only one person who was a farmer was reported as murdered.
However, AfriForum disputed this.
Both the minister and Afriforum remain deadlock over the issue of farm murders prolificacy, with Mchunu challenging the lobby group to back their claims with evidence.
In a brief interview with the Daily News, Minister Mchunu challenged AfriForum, demanding verifiable evidence that contradicts his ministry's statistics.
“We thoroughly work to produce accurate crime statistics to reflect the country’s crime statistics situation. We will not allow any posturing by an organisation such as AfriForum to cause unnecessary uncertainty. We will await them providing us with evidence,” said Mchunu.
In a prior statement, Mchunu remarked: “Crime statistics, in particular, are about the rate of crime in South Africa, and that includes murder, which is the loss of life to those who are directly affected, and it is a grave matter that we need treat with sanity and respect, not for posturing of whatever kind, whether political or otherwise, or any mileage as government.”
Mchunu also said AfriForum’s dispute of the crime statistics “smacks at their feeling of taking an ‘Orwellian’ approach to this subject.”
Mchunu said he expected AfriForum to provide evidence when its leaders return from their trip to the US, where they lobbied President Donald Trump’s administration, to mobilise support for the interest of white South Africans.
This has also sparked massive criticism for AfriForum, with many labelling their actions as treason.
Jacque Broodryk, the head spokesperson for community safety at AfriForum, said: “We disagree with the minister that there was only one farm murder in the third quarter.”
Contrary to the recent crime statistics, Broodryk argued that there were five "farm murders" in the third quarter of 2024, and promised that they would provide evidence to the minister on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the People’s Movement for Change has labelled AfriForum’s jaunt to the US as “reckless” and an “insult” and an attack on the millions of South Africans.
Marius Fransman, the president of the organisation, said: “Their actions, cloaked in the language of advocacy, are already causing severe harm, with devastating consequences for the most vulnerable in our society.”
He added: “This crisis is unfolding in real-time. The withdrawal of this funding is a direct result of misinformation campaigns that falsely portray South Africa as a country engaged in ‘land grabs’ and the ‘persecution of white citizens”.
Fransman urged South Africans to rally against the organisation “to urgently seek an interdict against AfriForum.”
He sternly rejected their “divisive and destructive” tactics.
“We stand firmly with the people of South Africa and will not allow foreign-backed propaganda to dismantle the progress we have made. AfriForum and Solidarity must be held accountable for their role in this unfolding humanitarian disaster,” said Fransman.
Many other organisations and political parties have also slammed AfriForum over its US trip.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also condemned AfriForum and Solidarity's White House appeal over land rights.
“We need to be sending a clear message to them that as far as we are concerned, as proud South Africans, we prefer that we should all stay here and solve our problems. Already, what they are doing has spawned divisions in our nation. That is not a nation-building process — running around the world trying to have your problems solved.”
With multiple political factions rallying against AfriForum and Solidarity’s efforts, the stakes surrounding this dispute is constantly rising. The unfolding situation demands close attention as both the police ministry and AfriForum prepare to mobilise their arguments and supporters in what could become a pivotal moment in South Africa's ongoing narrative on crime and civil rights.
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