The US has insisted on its claim that white farmers are being targeted in South Africa with the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor (DRL) saying the farm attacks in the country are not ordinary crimes. 

The DRL said it has visited the country recently to learn more about the rural farm attacks and the breakdown of the rule of law. 

The bureau said the trip to South Africa was in support of the President of the United States’ executive orders.

US President Donald Trump took aim at South Africa earlier this year after he took office for the second term, promoting claims that white farmers were targeted-he stopped all aid to South Africa, accusing it of discriminating against its white minority. 

The South African government and President Cyril Ramaphosa have labelled notions that there is a genocide against White South Africans as false and said while there was crime in South Africa, the majority of victims were Black.

Trump also imposed a 30% tariff wall on South African exports, while other African nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have been hit with 15%, which is expected to come into effect in days.

The bureau said South Africa holds enormous economic and geopolitical promise but the current breakdowns in law and order are not conducive to growth or collaboration with the US. 

It said the South African government must speak clearly and act decisively to address crime and condemn the violence.

The bureau said violent crime is rampant in South Africa, but rural attacks – especially on farms- display a distinctly brutal pattern. 

“Local sources reported 296 farm attacks and 49 murders in 2023, and that victims are disproportionately elderly, isolated and face delayed police response. The South African Police Service reports the number increased to 55 murders in 2024,’’ said the DRL.

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

“Earlier this year, a man was beaten and hacked with a machete. In another incident, an elderly woman was assaulted and repeatedly stabbed. In both cases, no theft occurred. These attacks are not motivated by poverty alone.’’

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, and International Relations and Cooperation are expected to brief the media on Monday on the tariffs. 

The government is also expected to give an update on the negotiations between South Africa and the US.

manyane.manyane@inl.co.za

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