By Ebi Kesiena
South Africa’s Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has firmly dismissed claims by U.S. President Donald Trump alleging a so-called “white genocide” in the country, calling the statements unfounded and a misrepresentation of crime statistics.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday during the presentation of South Africa’s quarterly crime statistics, Mchunu said the narrative that white farmers are being systematically targeted for murder is “totally unfounded and totally unsubstantiated”.
He added that the claims made by Trump, including accusations of government-led land seizures from white farmers, are “distortions that misrepresent the true nature of crime in the country”.
At a recent meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Washington, Trump once again alleged that “thousands” of white farmers were being murdered and repeated debunked claims about land expropriation policies. He also presented videos and articles purporting to support his claims, which international news agencies, including AFP, later found to be riddled with falsehoods.
Minister Mchunu clarified that the South African government is not expropriating land from white farmers and that land invasions recorded by the police have been isolated incidents, mostly in urban areas and not government-sanctioned.
“This is an unsubstantiated allegation, and it remains so, even though it is said by people who are in high positions,” he stated.
Addressing the actual data on farm-related crimes, Mchunu said the police do not typically categorise crime victims by race, but did so in this instance to counter the genocide narrative. Between January and March 2025, two farm owners were killed, both of them Black. Additionally, one farm dweller, two farm workers, and one farm manager were also murdered in farm-related attacks during the same period. Of those victims, only the farm dweller was white.
Highlighting that the majority of victims across rural and urban environments are young Black men. In the previous quarter (October to December 2024), twelve murders were reported on farms, and only one of the victims, a farm owner, was white.
The minister emphasised that South Africa’s high crime rate cuts across all social, economic, and racial groups, and is not limited to any one community. “We don’t deny that the levels of crime in the country are high, but it cuts across all divides, rural and urban,” he said.
To enhance transparency, Mchunu announced that future crime statistics would distinguish more clearly between killings in rural areas, urban centres, and on commercial farms. This, he said, would help provide “a fuller picture” in response to politically charged narratives.
The relationship between South Africa and the United States has become strained in recent years. Since taking office, Trump has cut development aid to South Africa, expelled the South African ambassador, and controversially offered asylum to white South Africans citing “persecution”.
Mchunu reiterated that the government remains committed to addressing crime holistically and factually, not through racialised or politically motivated distortions. “The history of murders in the country has always been distorted and reported in an unbalanced way. The truth matters,” he said.
