Kidnapping is on the rise in Mzansi and this was announced by Police Minister Bheki Cele during the delivery of the quarterly crime stats from October 1 to December 2023.
Cele also revealed that these kidnappings came with a demand for hefty amounts of ransom money making this organised crime.
Cele said that the third quarter crime statistics recorded a total of 3,975 people who were kidnapped during the period of 1 October and 31 December 2023.
"From the recorded figure, a ransom was demanded for 138 kidnappings, 23 people were trafficked while 18 were held for extortion.Kidnappings for ransom has become a lucrative commodity for organised crime in South Africa. The South African Police Service continues in its efforts to identify and arrest groupings linked to kidnappings, especially where ransom demands are being made. More than 300 suspects linked to these kidnappings have been arrested in the last two years."
An alarming number of murder cases were also recorded, revealing that in just three months 7710 people were killed.
Cele said he was shocked because the last two quarters a decline was recorded in this regard.
"It is disturbing and concerning that the number of people murdered during this period increased by 2.1%, leading to 155 more people murdered as compared to the same period. KwaZulu-Natal ,Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng are the top stations where murder was recorded.It is also concerning that of the 268 gang related murders, 250 of these murders were reported in the Western Cape. 431 murders had been linked to vigilantism and mob justice attacks. Of these, 84 had taken place in Gauteng, 80 in the Eastern Cape and 78 in KwaZulu-Natal. There had also been six mass shootings during the same period,"said Cele.
He said 22 police officers were killed during this period and warned criminals that they will face the full might of the law and be held accountable for all killing of police officials.
Cele said that all sexual offences crimes including, rape sexual assault and contact sexual offences all registered an overall 1.7% decline during this period.
"Rape declined by 1,7 % and six provinces including Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape and Western Cape all registered a decline in this crime category."
