A slight decrease in farm murders announced by Police Minister Bheki Cele has not appeased the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) which remains “concerned” about farm and rural attacks and murders.

According to Cele, the last year’s crime statistics showed there were 47 farm murders in 41 separate incidents. The commercial farmers’ representative organisation maintains its incident register recorded 48 murders in 357 incidents in the 2018/19 financial year.

“The police murder statistic is more or less the same as ours,” said Hendry Geldenhuys, TAU deputy president and chair of the union’s security committee.

“What is worrying is the murder figure for this year reached 40 by the end of August.”

He ascribed the decrease in farm murders to agricultural security organisations largely driven by the TAU saying these played a major part in preventing farm and rural attacks because of their proactive modus operandi.

Police statistics show the largest target group for farm murders are men between 50 and 71. “In the overwhelming majority of incidents they were attacked by men wielding firearms,” he said, adding by way of contrast a statement to Parliament last month by the Police Minister. This showed the SA Police Service “lost” more than nine and a half million rounds of ammunition and 4 357 firearms over the last six financial years.

“We find this hard to accept. It’s counter-productive to reduce farm attacks and murders while ammunition and firearms are apparently freely available to criminal elements,” Geldenhuys said.

Other areas of concern include an increase of 4.6% in sexual assault in rural areas, attempted murder (three percent), assault (3.7%), robbery (two percent) and just on three percent in livestock theft.







He maintains there is “under-reporting” of livestock theft, supported by information from Unisa and the National Livestock Theft Priority Committee. “We will remind the Minister of his words to take livestock theft seriously.”