The contentious debate on farm attacks was taken to Parliament last week when Ian Cameron, in his capacity has the DA’s spokesperson on police, called on the South African Police Service to declare farm attacks and rural violence on both farmers and workers a national policing priority.
“This is not only to protect the food producers of the country,” he said, “but to defend every South African who labours in our agricultural heartlands under constant threat of violence.”
Cameron said while the 12,4% national decrease in murder over the last quarter is welcome, the unrelenting violence that rural communities continue to face cannot be ignored.
The fourth-quarter crime statistics included a section titled “attacks on rural communities”.
Under this section the police recorded that between January and March 2025 six murders took place in farming areas, one rape case was reported and 13 attempted murders.
In this period there were 11 assaults with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm (GBH), and 53 robberies with aggravating circumstances were also recorded.
“These are often not opportunistic crimes,” Cameron said. “They are calculated, brutal and often feature torture, rape and execution-style-killings.
“Many of these attacks are disproportionately violent where victims are left mutilated and tortured.”
He argued that these attacks were not just crimes against individuals.
“They are attacks on the constitutional right to dignity, life and safety. They are attacks on the very viability of our rural economy, food security, employment and national stability.”
Cameron said government’s Rural Safety Strategy, “adopted with much fanfare”, remained inconsistently implemented and underfunded without clear accountability.
“Crime intelligence in rural areas is scarce-to-non-existent. Rural police stations remain understaffed, under-resourced and overwhelmed.
“A recent police strategic briefing highlighted once again the need for an intelligence-led policing model to guide operations. This is a move the DA wholeheartedly supports.
“This must not remain in the realm of theory. It must translate into rural deployments backed by crime analyses, actionable intelligence and swift prosecution-led investigations.”
The South African government initially adopted the Rural Safety Strategy in July 2011.
It was later reviewed and approved in August 2019, and the reviewed strategy was implemented starting April 2020.
The strategy is a comprehensive approach to address safety and security in rural areas, including both farming communities and general rural populations. It focuses on enhanced policing, accessibility and integrated, multi-disciplinary crime-prevention measures.
The strategy aimed to reduce crime, improve service delivery and strengthen relationships between law enforcement and rural communities.