South Africa’s murder rate increased by 11.5% in the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year, with Police Minister Bheki Cele expressing “concern at the alarmingly high murder rates in the country.”
Addressing the media in Pretoria on Friday, Cele said the number of murders in the country remained “high and worrisome.”
According to crime statistics, between April and June this year 6,424 people were killed by other people in the country, Cele said.
“This is an increase of 664 more people murdered compared to the same period last year when the country was placed under Covid-19 lockdown level one and two,” Cele said.
The main causes of the murders were arguments and misunderstandings, while retaliation and revenge were a second motive for the killings, he said.
Vigilantism was the third most likely cause of murders in South Africa, the minister added.
Cele also cited the consumption of alcohol as another factor in communities which hosted lots of taverns in the country.
Some 18 police officers were killed during this period. This was 13 less police officers murdered compared to the same period last year, he said.
Of the 6,424 people killed during this period, some 2,766 people were shot to death. From these, 912 were gunned down in KwaZulu-Natal province, the statistics showed.
Gauteng province followed with 697 deaths attributed to firearms, while the Western Cape was next – with 498 people dying from gunshot wounds, the statistics added.
“Police operational responses nationwide should continue to remove guns that are in the wrong hands,” Cele said.
NM/jn/APA