DA calls for action to address farm murders after Trump meeting
South African Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 21, 2025. Picture: Jim Watson / AFP
The DA has reiterated its call for urgent action to address farm murders in the country following President Cyril Ramaphosa's meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump.
This comes after Trump, who proved to be a political rottweiler for Afrikaners and white farmers, shifted the focus from what began as a cordial discussion with President Cyril Ramaphosa but veered sharply off course to farm attacks in South Africa.
Ramaphosa met Trump on Wednesday. He was joined by four ministers, renowned businessman Johann Rupert, and golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
During the bilateral talks, which played out before the media, Trump showed videos of EFF leader Julius Malema to support his false belief in genocide against whites in the country, asking why Malema has not been arrested.
Farm murders
DA national and agriculture spokesperson Willie Aucamp said farm murders continue and rural safety continues to threaten lives, food security, jobs, and the stability of South Africa's rural economy.
'In his engagement with President Trump, Minister Steenhuisen reiterated that farm murders are a grim reality in South Africa and must be treated as an urgent national priority.
ALSO READ: 'There is doubt in Trump's head about genocide in SA,' Ramaphosa says [VIDEO]
'We now welcome the fact that two parliamentary portfolio committees — the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and the Portfolio Committee on Police — have formally recognised that farm murders do happen and must be combated without delay,' Aucamp said.
Parliamentary report
Aucamp said the adoption of the Joint Parliamentary Committee Report on Farm murders, tabled on Wednesday, reflects many of the policy reforms the 'DA has long championed'.
'These include, among others, key recommendations that align directly with the DA's Integrated Rural Safety Strategy.
'Establishment of a Specialised Rural Safety Unit in Saps, strengthen rural crime intelligence to combat farm attack syndicates and cross-border networks and acknowledge the uniquely brutal nature of farm murders, often involving torture,' Aucamp said.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Donald Trump ambushes Cyril Ramaphosa in Oval Office
Food security
Aucamp added that the murder of farmers and farmworkers affects the 'food security of our nation'.
'These are not ordinary crimes. They are premeditated, cruel and economically devastating.
'We call on the Minister of Police to implement these recommendations without delay. Rural South Africa needs boots on the ground, intelligence in the field, and justice in the courts,' Aucamp stressed.
Afrikaner refugees
Last week, the first group of 49 Afrikaners left South Africa and arrived in the US under Trump's new refugee policy for them.
Ramaphosa at the time said the Afrikaners who had flown to the US as 'refugees' had committed a 'cowardly act' and were clearly unhappy with efforts to redress the inequities of the apartheid past.
'I think that it's a sad moment for them. They may be feeling excited that they left the country, that they've got somebody like President (Donald) Trump,' Ramaphosa said at an impromptu press briefing at the annual Nampo harvest festival near the Free State town of Bothaville.
Despite the unsubstantiated claims made by Trump about genocide in South Africa, Ramaphosa said the meeting with Trump was fruitful.
After his private lunch meeting with Trump, Ramaphosa told the media that there was 'doubt in Trump's head about genocide in SA'.
ALSO READ: 'Older men gossiping about me': Malema reacts to Ramaphosa-Trump meeting after Kill the Boer videos
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