South Africa Has the Second-Highest Homicide Murder Rate in Africa, SA Not Surprised
- South Africa has been ranked as the country with the second-highest homicide rates in Africa
- Data released by Data Pandas showed that the country ranked second behind Lesotho and is followed by Nigeria
- South Africans believed that the criminal justice system was to blame for the high homicide rate
With nine years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insights into the criminal justice system and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.
Source: Getty Images
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is ranked number two in the top ten countries with the highest homicide rates in Africa.
SA has second-highest homicide rate
Data released by Data Pandas reveal that Spiuth Africa is ranked second with a homicide rate of 36.40 per 10,000 people. Lesotho, a country landlocked by South Africa, has the highest homicide rate. Nigeria has the third-highest homicide rate, with 34.52 homicides per 10,000 people. Uganda has the lowest homicide rates on the continent, with 10.52 homicides per 10,000 people.
The South African Police Service recently released its latest crime statistics. It revealed that 70 people are murdered every day in South Africa. Approximately 6545 murders were committed between July and September 2024. The murder rate went up from 6198.
Ian Cameron on crime fighting
Speaking to Briefly News, Ian Cameron, the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, commended the downward trend in 17 community-reported crimes during the second quarter. He said it highlighted the importance of proactive and preventative policing as guided by the SAPS code of conduct and intelligence-led policing.
"Both pillars of policing, proactive and reactive policing, require investment in terms of human and financial resources to be effective. In line with this, the committee has requested the SAPS to capacitate the detective and intelligence services as a way of supporting efforts to combat crime," he said.
He also said that the prevalence of illegal firearms on our streets remains a concern, more so because it is the weapon of choice in committing many crimes in the country.
SA not surprised
Netizens commenting on the statistics on Facebook were not stunned.
Brendon Germaine said:
"Thanks to the ANC."
Di Marco said:
"South Africa is finished."
Brian Kritzinger said:
"Criminals are rewarded with light sentences."
Neil van Schalkwyk said:
"No surprises here."
Senzo Mchunu warns criminals
In a related article, Briefly News reported that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu warned criminals not to challenge the police.
He spoke after releasing the second-quarter crime statistics for 2024 and said that criminals should not shoot at the police when they are arrested.
Source: Briefly News
