SA CRIME STATS: MURDERS PERSIST, FIREARMS A KEY CONCERN

Sat 24 May 2025:

The latest release of South Africa’s crime statistics for the fourth quarter of the 2024/25 financial year, covering January to March 2025, paints a grim picture of violent crime, even as some decreases were noted. A staggering 5 727 people were murdered during this three-month period, averaging 62 deaths per day. Firearms were identified as the weapon of choice in a significant portion of these killings.

According to data, guns were used in 2 559 of the reported murders. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu acknowledged that while the overall murder rate for the quarter saw a decrease of over 12%, the sheer number of fatalities remains “unacceptable.” He stressed the need for “stricter gun law enforcement,” noting a 2.7% increase in cases of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, with 4 023 such cases registered. The period also saw ten incidents where five or more people were killed at once, seven of which were mass shootings.

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Farm Attacks and “Genocide” Claims Addressed

Minister Mchunu directly addressed claims of a White genocide, particularly in the context of farm attacks. He stated that such narratives are “totally unfounded and unsubstantiated.” Presenting figures for the fourth quarter, Mchunu reported six attacks on rural communities resulting in two fatalities.

He specified that “in all but one case the victims were black.” He elaborated, “The two farm owners who were murdered during the fourth quarter were African and not white. The two farm employees and one farm manager were also black. One farm dweller was white.” Mchunu asserted that “the history of farm murders in the country has always been distorted and reported in an unbalanced way. The truth is farm murders have always included African people in more numbers.”

The Minister also clarified the context of an image showing crosses, allegedly representing farm murders, which had gained international attention. He explained the crosses near Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, “symbolised killings on farms over years. They are not graves,” stemming from a 2020 community protest, and noted that suspects in that specific case were arrested and sentenced.

Commenting on the crime stats, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Ian Cameron expressed concern that “far too many South Africans remain trapped in daily fear”. He reiterated the party’s call for the “devolution of policing powers, enhanced crime intelligence, and localised enforcement partnerships”.