Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Up to 95% of farm murder cases unsolved
AfriForum’s report shows that unsolved farm-related crime rate is increasing, writes Jyothi Laldas.
Arecent report by AfriForum has shown that out of the 1 402 farm attacks and farm murder incidents recorded by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the past four years – from 2019 to 2022 – there have been only 66 cases where convictions were secured.
According to the ‘Rural injustice: The low prosecution rates for farm attacks and murders’ report, more than 95% of all recorded farm murders remain unsolved.
The report also reveals that while AfriForum’s database recorded 182 incidents of farm attacks in which at least one person was murdered (217 murder victims) for the 2019 to 2022 calendar years, the SAPS recorded 153 of these incidents for the same period.
This information, together with other figures regarding the arrest and prosecution of suspects involved in farm attacks and farm murder incidents that took place from 2019 to 2022, is contained in the AfriForum report.
No successful prosecutions in farm murder cases were secured in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the North West or the Northern Cape during the investigation period. “This despite the fact that the improvement of crime investigations and an increase in the number of prosecutions of all crimes committed in rural areas was set out as an explicit objective in the SAPS’s National Rural Safety Strategy that was implemented in 2019,” said Johan Nortjé, an AfriForum researcher and the compiler of the report.
Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s spokesperson for community safety, attributed the lack of convictions to weak investigative work and ineffective prosecutions.
He added that there was “a clear unwillingness on the part of government to tackle rural safety, and farm attacks in particular are probably the reason for these shocking findings”.
“The figures reveal a bitter truth, namely that farm attackers not only believe that they can get away with their inexcusable crimes; they know it. That is why it is now more important than ever for farming communities to organise themselves, be trained and set up robust safety networks.”
For the first time, the report also offered a perspective on the nationality of arrested farm attackers and revealed that the majority of those who had been arrested were South Africans, and not foreign nationals as is often claimed.
The vast majority (86%) of the suspects who had been arrested were South Africans, followed by Lesotho nationals at 8%.
The data provided by the SAPS did not indicate the nationality of the perpetrators who had been sentenced.
“The purpose of this report was to evaluate the arrest and conviction rate of suspects and perpetrators involved in farm attacks and murders. The results indicate that the arrest and conviction rate for both farm murders and attacks are low,” the report said.
“The low arrest rate for attacks (22%) and murders (49%) is of particular concern for two reasons. The low arrest rate has two implications: firstly, there is the possibility that the perpetrators of attacks will continue to commit crimes, while the victims of these crimes live with the knowledge and fear that these perpetrators have not been apprehended.
‘IT IS NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER FOR FARMING COMMUNITIES TO ORGANISE THEMSELVES’
“While it is expected that convictions will almost always be lower than arrests, the low conviction rate for both murders (32%) and attacks (16%) suggests a serious deficiency within either the SAPS or [National Prosecuting Authority].
“Farmers and people living on smallholdings, like other victims of crime, deserve fair and speedy justice.
“Unfortunately, the findings of this report indicate that there are significant delays and inefficiencies within the criminal justice system, leading to protracted court cases and a lack of closure for victims. The low conviction rates and slow pace of the proceedings exacerbate the insecurity and fear among these communities, underscoring the urgent need for reform.”