Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has dismissed reports by US President Donald Trump that there’s “white genocide” and land grab in South Africa. Trump made the remarks during his meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday in Washington D.C., USA, where he used video footage and articles in a bid to prove that there’s “white genocide” in the country.
The minister said the term “genocide” has been forcefully introduced to the scene, in a distinctly foreign and strange manner, adding that a lot of material has been put into circulation, which include pictures of crosses along a particular road, to name a few.
Mchunu made the remarks when he was releasing the fourth quarter crime stats of the 2024/25 financial year covering the period from 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025 in Pretoria.
“In the last few days, we have seen conversations and concerns about crime in South Africa taking a different turn, whereby it is claimed that there is “white genocide” in the country. We have respect for the USA as a country, we have respect for the people in that country and for President Trump, but we have no
respect for this genocide story, at all. It is unfounded and unsubstantiated,” said Mchunu.
In addition, the minister said they have noted doubt expressed by media houses in the USA, United Kingdom and locally, and welcomed it. According to Mchunu, if there was genocide in the country, the NGOs, NPOs and free media, could have reported about it. The minister also gave clarity about the white crosses depicted in one of the videos played by Trump.
“The picture of many crosses on both sides of a dirt road between Newcastle and Normandien in KwaZulu-Natal, flows from a Normandien registered case, where the incident occurred on 2020/09/30, on Hanover farm. It is a sad story of G Rafferty and VL Rafferty, they were sadly murdered by criminals in their home. The incident sparked a strong protest by the farming community. The crosses symbolised killings on farms over years, they are not graves,” explained Mchunu, who also highlighted that three suspects linked to the case were arrested and sentenced for their murder.
Regarding the crime stats, Mchunu said as with previous quarters, the ministry has recorded a significant decrease in most crime categories. Despite the decrease, sexual offences, including rape and contact sexual offences, as well as commercial crimes, recorded increases during the quarter.
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape, contributed most murder cases nationwide. The annual crime statistics will be released in September; these will give us an overall picture of the crime statistics for the 2024/2025 financial year.
