APA-Cape Town (South Africa) Some 6,289 people were killed in South Africa in the first quarter of 2023, representing an increase of 3.4 percent, Police Minister Bheki Cele has announced in Cape Town.
Presenting quarterly crime statistics on Tuesday, the minister said the individuals were killed with either a firearm, a knife, sharp and blunt instruments, stones and bare hands between January and March this year.
“The majority of the killings took place in the KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng provinces, with arguments, vigilantism and robberies topping the motive list for murder,” Cele said.
He said KwaZulu-Natal reported the highest figures of multiple-murder cases with 206 cases, and followed by the Eastern Cape with 155 victims.
“The Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces recorded decreases in murder figures, with both the Western Cape and Northern Cape reporting a double digit decrease in murder cases,” he said.
While more work still needed to be done to combat contact crime, the drop in murder figures in some provinces was a welcome development in the fight against crime, Cele said.
“These crime figures also show that the Western Cape is turning the corner on contact crime cases,” he said.
Meanwhile, the minister said he remained concerned that 10,512 people were raped in the first three months of this year.
Some US$95 million has been allocated to his ministry by government to procure vehicles to improve police visibility in its crime fighting efforts, he added.
NM/jn/APA