‘Spiraling Out Of Control’: Recent Stats Reveal South Africa’s Crime Conundrum

Over 6,000 murders in three months. Recent crime statistics point to underlying social tensions, wealth inequality, organized crime, and scrutinize the government’s response, including police reform and crime intelligence in South Africa.

South Africa’s Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, recently presented the country’s quarterly crime statistics to the public, and the results reveal a bloody conflict being waged in one of Africa’s central hubs. In just three months, over 6,000 people were murdered in the country, almost three murders every hour. Increases in attempted murder, assault, and vigilantism were also observed. Delving deeper into the numbers reveals a population under immense pressure from social tensions, wealth inequality, and organized crime. “We established that 872 of the murders were attributable to arguments, misunderstandings, road rage, and provocation,” said Major General Sekhukhune, the head of Police Crime Research and Statistics, during a presentation of the statistics on May 30. Opposition parties and human rights organizations across the country responded with fury to the numbers, citing a failure of the government to reverse a steadily increasing tide of crime.

“We can no longer allow violent crimes to continue with impunity. The justice system has to act as a deterrent, and the first step is ensuring that the police can conduct thorough, efficient, and transparent investigations into all killings, and ensure that the perpetrators are charged in accordance with the law,” Amnesty International South Africa Executive Director Shenilla Mohamed said in a press statement.