The civil rights organisation AfriForum today launched its annual farm murder report for 2022. The report compares the number of farm murders with the number of suspects apprehended.

According to AfriForum, it is worrying that only 33% of murder suspects are arrested. According to the report, farm attacks decreased in the past year from 415 attacks and 55 murders in 2021 to 333 attacks and 50 murders in 2022.

“Unfortunately, it is not clear whether the number of attacks actually decreased seeing as more and more cases are never reported to the police. I don’t think the public’s trust in the police has ever been as low as it is now,” says Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s spokesperson for Community Safety.

AfriForum urges farmers and the public, in general, to establish security structures and become actively involved in the safety of their communities. AfriForum has 160 neighbourhood watch structures nationwide and offers safety training to farmers.

“The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, recently admitted that the police are unable to carry out their duties without help from the communities involved, and for once I agree with him. AfriForum is investigating legal options to give farm- and neighbourhood watches more power to carry out their tasks efficiently,” concludes Broodryk.