While political parties have cautiously welcomed the decrease in the murder rate, they have remained adamant that crime in South Africa is a national crisis.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu released the fourth quarter crime figures on Friday.
The statistics revealed a decrease in murder rates but a rise in Gender-Based Violence (GBV), including rape.
The parties expressed concerns that while discredited narratives like “white genocide” continue to dominate some public discourse, crime was still hitting the country hard.
ActionSA, EFF and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) said the government was failing to tackle crime.
According to the EFF, Mchunu had to reiterate that there is no genocide against white people in South Africa as the recent statistics confirm that of the six murders on farms recorded in the fourth quarter.
The EFF said five of the victims were Black, which included two farm owners, two farm employees, and a farm manager.
“These distractions are an insult to the real victims of crime in this country, especially women who continue to be brutalised by gender-based violence; to the communities terrorised by gang violence, extortion, and kidnappings; and to the children living in fear of rape, assault and murder,” the EFF said.
ActionSA said the murder rates underscored the scale of the crisis, particularly for women and children, who continue to suffer unspeakable violence, with 13,452 sexual offences reported in just three months.
The party said this was a concern for them.
FF+ said it was hard to be optimistic when one is adrift in a small boat in a sea of crime.
“There is some good news for South Africa, though; there does not seem to be any new leaks in this small boat,” the party said in a statement.
Politics
