South Africa: Beneath Politicking - '31 Murders' in Western Cape Over a Day Ahead of SA's Biggest Elections

28 May 2024
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
analysis By Caryn Dolley

The number of murders in the Western Cape over a day recently just about exceeds the number of years South Africa has been a democracy.

Between Saturday and Sunday, on the weekend leading up to democratic South Africa's biggest elections, 31 people were murdered in the country's gangsterism capital, the Western Cape.

Daily Maverick understands that figures, compiled within the South African Police Service (SAPS) and which have not been officially released, show this.

It is understood the various murders -- including shootings and stabbings -- are not interlinked and are not all gang-related.

There have recently been spikes in killings in the Western Cape, with another mass shooting reported a few weeks ago.

Last month, asked about another set of Western Cape crime figures that were not officially released, provincial police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said that statistics were "not disclosed ahead of the official quarterly release by the Police Minister".

The recent statistics Daily Maverick has been informed of, that cover 24 hours from 25 to 26 May 2024, therefore cannot be officially confirmed.

This makes it difficult to gauge how violence is fluctuating on a regular basis.

Policeman fatally shot

In one of the incidents that played out between Saturday and Sunday morning, a police officer was killed.

On Tuesday, 28 May, Traut confirmed to Daily Maverick that detectives attached...

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