The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The latest crime statistics, released today, close the chapter on South Africa’s 2024/2025 financial year and they paint a devastating picture. A staggering 25,423 people were murdered in just 12 months. That’s an average of 69 lives lost every single day. These are not just numbers, they are lives cut short, families shattered, communities terrorised. No spin, no minor percentage shift can obscure the scale of this tragedy.

Among the many revelations in the data, one critical point stands out - the truth behind the “white genocide” myth. Of the 25,423 murders recorded nationwide, just 358 took place on agricultural land, including farms, plots, and small holdings. Only 42 of these involved individuals classified as part of the farming community, currently limited to commercial farms.

In response to persistent disinformation, the statistics for the fourth quarter were further broken down by race. Of the farm owners murdered during this period, both were African. Additionally, the two farm employees and one farm manager killed were also African. Of the six individuals classified as part of the farming community during this quarter, only one, a farm dweller, was white.

Let us be clear, no murder is acceptable. Every life matters. But to claim that there is a deliberate campaign targeting white South African farmers amounts to a dangerous distortion of reality. The definition of genocide is the deliberate extermination of a national, racial, or ethnic group. The data simply does not support that narrative.

We must stand against crime in all its forms, and we must also stand against disinformation that sows division, fuels fear, and distracts from the real, collective challenges we face.

Issued by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General