Johannesburg – Almost three people were murdered every hour in South Africa during the first three months of the year, according to police statistics released on Tuesday.
At least 6 289 people were killed in the country – which has one of the world’s highest murder rates – between January and March, up 3.4% on the same period last year.
Yet, Police Minister Bheki Cele, who has long been under fire over the rampant crime, said the overall picture was improving.
“We are gradually gaining back the ground from criminals,” Cele told a press conference.
Child murders were down 20%, he said.
Rapes also saw a slight 2.8% decline, with a still staggering 10 500 cases reported in the first quarter of 2022.
[WATCH] Police Minister Bheki Cele says 6 289 people were killed with either a firearm, knife, sharp and blunt instruments, stone or bare hands between January and March. Majority of the killings took place in KZN, Western Cape and Gauteng.#CrimeStats #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/qreY7gKxFu
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) May 30, 2023
Cash-in-transit robberies instead experienced a “stubborn increase” of more than 20%, with 64 cases reported, Cele said.
Common robberies, assaults and attempted murders were also on the up.
The leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), reiterated calls for Cele to be fired.
Crime is “spiralling out of control,” the party said in a statement.
The new figures “paint a bloody picture of violence tearing away at our social fabric while our citizens cower in fear in their own homes”.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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