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KwaDukuza ranks 22nd for murder
from XPRESS TIMES
by Ahmed Desai
By Xpress Reporter
KwaDukuza police station tanks among the top 30 stations in the country to record high incidence of murder. The national crime statistics released by Police Minister Bheki cele last week, for the quarter ended in December 2022, show that KwaDukuza is sitting at position 22 among SA's police stations with high murder case load, after recording 43 cases of murder, up from 35 reported in the comparative period a year earlier.
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KwaDukuza also features among the top 30 police station in terms of attempted murder, after coming in at position 26. The police station registered 34 cases in the three month under review, as compared to 36 reported a year earlier. The scariest figure came in with cases of rape, as KwaDukuza ranked number 10 in this category countrywide, after registering 58 cases in the period under review, up from 51 reported in the preceding year.
Presenting the statistics, Minister Cele expressed alarm at the rapid escalation in the incidence of violent crimes in the country, in particular crimes involving the use of firearms. Just last week, a local KwaDukuza businessman and his son were shot during a robbery at their shop. The son later succumbed in hospital.
Cele says figures show that between October and December 2022, more than 7500 people were murdered in South Africa. He said while police were intensifying operations to remove illegal firearms from circulation, cooperation by members of the public was vital, as police were not in a position to combat crime working in isolation.
“The SAPS will continue to intensify operations to detect and remove illegal firearms and ammunition, whilst legislation intervention in the Amendment to the Firearms Control Act, to address the availability of guns in our communities, is underway.
“Out of the 7 555 people murdered in the three months of reporting, 3 144 people were killed with a firearm, 2 498 people were killed with other weapons such as knifes, sharp and blunt instruments, bricks and in many cases bare hands.
“It is clear, a broader conversation must be had about what is at the heart of violent crime in the country.
“While gun violence is problematic and poses a serious threat to lives and livelihoods.
With the analysis of the current and previous statistics, it is quite evident that firearms are only part
