Up to 95% of farm murder cases unsolved

AfriForum’s report shows that unsolved farm-related crime rate is increasing,

- Jyothi Laldas.

A recent 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.