Farm murder puts Zuma speech in "grim" context: ACDP

A "grim" farm murder in North West has placed President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address into "gruesome" context, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party said on Sunday.

In his address, Zuma claimed some crime categories had declined, but this was put in grim context by the murders of Deon van Staden and his girlfriend Babs Strecker, 73, on a farm in the North West and two farm attacks in the eastern Free State.

"We are very concerned that farm murders and farm attacks continue unabatedly, not only in the eastern Free State and North West, but countrywide.

Botha called on the government to address farm murders with "the required sincerity" and to communicate at government level that the agricultural community is "not free booty".

"The attacks also place into context claims by Zuma that the country under the ANC equals heaven," Botha said.