Police registered 7‚710 murder cases in the October to December quarter last year, up from 7‚555 in the same period in 2022.
This was revealed by police minister Bheki Cele and police top brass during the release of crime statistics for the third quarter of the 2023-2024 financial year in Pretoria on Friday.
“It is disturbing and concerning that the number of people murdered during this period increased by 2.1%‚ leading to 155 more people murdered compared to the [previous matching] period,” Cele said.
“KwaZulu-Natal‚ Eastern Cape and Free State must be singled out and commended for being able to register a reduction in the number of people murdered during this time.”
“While they may not be out of the woods yet‚ it is important to highlight that attention and more resources have been allocated to stations that have the highest number of murders reported. Most of the top 30 stations where murders were most [prevalent] were in Western Cape‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ Gauteng and the Eastern Cape,” the minister said.
He said a concerning trend was that, of the 268 gang-related murder cases, 250 of which occurred in the Western Cape.
“A total of 431 murders were linked to vigilantism and mob justice attacks. Gauteng registered the highest number with 84‚ followed by the Eastern Cape with 80 and KwaZulu-Natal with 78‚” he said.
Highlighting convictions‚ he said: 42 murderers were handed 56 life sentences while 83 received prison sentences of 20 years and more.
Attempted murders went up by 13%‚ or 7‚927 from 7‚016‚ while assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) increased by 5.8% to 53‚513.
Within the sexual offences category‚ rape and sexual assault went down by 1.7% and 1.9% respectively.
Police registered 12‚211 rape cases in the quarter‚ down from 12‚419 in 2022. Sexual assault went down to 2‚114 from 2‚154
“Gauteng‚ the Eastern Cape‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ Limpopo‚ Northern Cape and the Western Cape all registered a decline in this crime category,” said Cele.
Highlighting convictions in this category‚ he said: 112 life sentences were handed to 89 rapists and gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) perpetrators while 64 each received sentences of 20 years and more. Some 261 other perpetrators were sentenced to imprisonment of between one and nine years.
Maj-Gen Norman Sekhukhune provided a breakdown of the crime categories.
TimesLIVE
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