SAPs urged to address false news on farm attacks and genocide

THE SAPS, agricultural unions and private security firms have been requested to debunk and correct the misinformation and false narratives circulating on social media and other platforms on farm attacks in South Africa.

- MANYANE MANYANE

A policy brief released by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) found that there is no evidence of any form of genocide taking place in the country.

The institute added that white people are statistically less at risk of violent crime than other racial groups as it explains why the country is so violent and why there is no evidence of a genocide.

This comes after the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) claimed that attacks on farms display a distinctly brutal pattern.

The bureau claimed that these were not ordinary crimes, adding that in some documented cases, reports detail victims tortured or killed without anything being stolen.

The bureau said local sources reported 296 farm attacks and 49 murders in 2023, adding that victims are disproportionately elderly, isolated and face delayed police response.

AfriForum said the report confirmed what the organisation had been emphasising for years, that farm attacks are not ordinary crimes.

The organisation added that farm attacks are brutal, targeted attacks that are often accompanied by torture, murder without anything being stolen and politically charged rhetoric such as the “Kill the Boer” slogan.