South African murder rate rises ahead of election battle

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - South Africa recorded almost 84 murders a day between October and December, a two-percent increase over the same period in 2022, according to police statistics released Friday.

The figures could embarrass the ruling ANC, which has governed the country for 30 years since the advent of democracy and faces a tough election later this year.

Illegal immigration and rampant crime have become key political issues ahead of the general election, with opposition parties pointing to the government's perceived failure.

South Africa has one of the highest peacetime per capita homicide rates in the world.

Police minister Bheki Cele told a press conference in Pretoria that 7,710 people were murdered in the last quarter of 2023.

"It is disturbing and concerning that the number of people murdered during this period increased by 2.1 percent... as compared to the same period" a year earlier, said Cele, who is under fire over rampant crime.

Rapes, in a country notorious for sex attacks against women and children, declined slightly by 1.7 percent, compared to the same three-month period the year before.

The crime-ridden township of Inanda, located 29 kilometres (18 miles) north of the coastal city of Durban, has become known as the country's rape capital, but recorded 20 fewer counts over the quarter.

"What is still worrying and of great concern is that the majority of the rapes were committed at victims' residences," Cele said.

"The perpetrators were either neighbours, friends or family members."

Police arrested 1,258 illegal miners during the last three months of 2023.

Thousands of unlicensed miners operate in the mineral-rich country. Their activities frustrate mining companies and are seen as a source of criminality by local residents.

Crime statistics -- which are presented every quarter in a live broadcast -- had been steadily rising over the past few months.

Eleven fewer cash-in-transit heists took place compared to the previous crime reporting period.

"Kidnappings for ransom have become a lucrative commodity for organised crime in South Africa," the minister warned, insisting the police would continue to fight the scourge.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), the leading opposition party, seized on the figures to criticise the government, saying crime had steadily worsened since the African National Congress came to power in 1994.

"We are not going to solve the crime problem in South Africa unless we change the way in which we conduct policing," DA leader John Steenhuisen told AFP, calling for a devolution of policing powers to local and provincial authorities.

But Cele said police efforts to fight criminals were proving effective, and more resources had been allocated to stations dealing with high numbers of murders.

"The tide is turning against crime," he said. - AFP