Photo: Mr Mbongeni Skhakhane at the AFASA Leadership & Strategic Partnership Conference, on the 26th November 2025.

The African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA) is deeply shocked and outraged by the brutal killing of our KwaZulu-Natal Chairperson, Mr Mbongeni Skhakhane, who was tragically shot and killed at his home on the evening of 26th December 2025.

This tragedy comes at a time when families across the country are on holiday, enjoying a welcome rest from the toil of their endeavours throughout the year. Farmers, however, do not enjoy this benefit. They continue to labour tirelessly to ensure that food is available for all the festivities and year-end celebrations. The loss of another farmer is devastating because it robs the country of one more soldier in the fight against food insecurity.

Mr Skhakhane was not only a black farmer but also a respected leader. He served with distinction as the AFASA KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson for many years, working tirelessly to uplift emerging farmers and strengthen support for black farmers in the province. He was part of the recent AFASA

Leadership and Strategic Partnership Conference held on 26 November 2025, where he mobilised his Provincial Executive Committee to provide valuable input to the Conference agenda and content and mobilised positive support from the Provincial government, working closely with the Honourable MEC, Thembeni KaMadlopha Mthethwa and the HOD, Mr Zibusiso Dlamini of the Department of Agricultureand Rural Development to support members from KZN to attend the conference, but also in organising training for developing farmers in the KZN Province to improve their agricultural practices. This once again demonstrated his commitment to developing farmers and building strategic partnerships with the government and other stakeholders in the sector.

Beyond his provincial leadership, Mr Skhakhane was a valued member of the AFASA National Executive Committee (NEC), responsible for developing and implementing strategies to advance the cause of developing farmers across South Africa. His passing is not only a loss to KwaZulu-Natal but to the entire AFASA family and the agricultural sector at large.

AFASA strongly condemns this senseless and cowardly act of violence. We call upon the South African Police Service to leave no stone unturned in their investigation, ensuring that those responsible are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.

Farm killings are a national crisis that demands urgent intervention. According to recent reports, 188 farm attacks and 34 murders were recorded in 2024, with 16 attacks and 3 murders already reported in the first weeks of 2025. These figures underscore the scale of the threat facing farmers across South Africa.

We further urge the government to mobilise resources to deal decisively with farm killings. There is a dangerous narrative that only white commercial farmers suffer this scourge, as was recently depicted during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House. This narrative is misleading and harmful.

Farm killings do not discriminate by race, colour, or scale of operation. Black farmers, especially developing farmers, are among the worst affected because they lack the resources to secure their farms and protect themselves.

AFASA strongly condemns this senseless and cowardly act of violence and calls upon the South African Police Service to leave no stone unturned in their investigation, ensuring that those responsible are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.

As the organisation representing Black farmers, AFASA is deeply concerned that developing farmers are disproportionately vulnerable. Unlike large commercial operations, many smallholder and emerging farmers lack the financial resources, infrastructure, and private security capacity to protect themselves, their families, and their farms. This leaves them exposed to violent robberies and attacks that threaten both their livelihoods and national food security.

AFASA therefore calls for:

• Increased policing and better surveillance of farms, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas.
• Dedicated rural safety units with rapid response capacity to protect farming communities.
• Deployment of modern surveillance technologies to monitor and deter criminal activity in farming districts.
• A coordinated national plan to prevent and stop farm killings, recognising them as a threat to food security and rural development.

AFASA further calls on the Minister of Agriculture, Honourable John Steenhusen, to urgently engage his counterpart, the Minister of Police, Honourable Feros Cachalia, together with all relevant state agencies, to develop and implement this national plan without delay.

We hope this loss will not be in vain but will create serious awareness and ignite determined action from both the public and government to address this crisis, as the killing of one farmer affects thenation at large. Those who address poverty, contribute to economic development through food production, creation of employment, and fight inequality must be protected, their efforts better acknowledged, and their lives secured.

The President of AFASA, Mr Mthembu, together with the NEC, is deeply saddened by this loss and encourages all members to join the leadership of AFASA in conveying our deepest condolences to the Skhakhane family, their relatives and the community at large. We stand united in grief and resolute in our demand for justice and protection for all farmers.

Issued on behalf of AFASA by,

AFASA National Chairperson

Mr Molefe Mahape.