A decline in violent crime across much of the Eastern Cape has been tempered by a troubling rise in sexual offences, particularly in communities already grappling with poverty and limited policing resources.
That was the stark picture painted on Tuesday when community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha released provincial crime statistics for the first and second quarters of the 2025/2026 financial year, alongside acting provincial police commissioner Major-General Thandiswa Kupiso at the SAPS provincial headquarters in Zwelitsha.
While the overall numbers suggest progress in the fight against serious crime, the data shows that women and children remain at serious risk, with rape and attempted sexual offences increasing in several districts — especially in OR Tambo and parts of Amathole.
The statistics identify Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay and the OR Tambo district as the province’s biggest contributors to reported crime in both quarters under review, despite each recording declines in certain categories.
For the first quarter, covering April to June 2025, Nelson Mandela Bay accounted for 21.5% of reported serious crimes, followed by Buffalo City at 19.2% and OR Tambo at 14.4%.
In the second quarter, from July to September 2025, Nelson Mandela Bay remained the highest contributor at 20.6%, Buffalo City rose slightly to 19.6% and OR Tambo increased to 15%.
Although five of the province’s eight districts recorded decreases in serious crimes in the first quarter, and similar trends were seen in the second quarter, these three districts remained “head and shoulders above the rest” in terms of overall case volumes.
The first quarter saw a notable reduction in some of the most violent crimes.
Murder cases dropped by 100 compared with the same period in 2024/2025, while aggravated robbery recorded the biggest decline, falling by 712 cases.
However, sexual offences moved in the opposite direction.
Sexual offence cases increased by 16% in the first quarter compared with the previous year.
This trend continued into the second quarter, where total sexual offences increased by 16 cases, a rise of 4.8%.
A total of 1,931 sexual offence crimes were reported during the second quarter of 2025/2026, up from 1,843 during the same period in 2024/2025.
Within this category, reported rape cases increased by 7.2% and attempted sexual offences by 13.7%.
Contact sexual offences decreased by 7.7%, while sexual assault cases dropped by 15.6%.
Only two districts recorded decreases in sexual offence cases during the second quarter, with Buffalo City down by 16.3% and Chris Hani down by 23.6%.
The statistics identified the province’s rape hotspots.
In the second quarter, the five police stations recording the most reported rape cases were Lusikisiki, Mthatha, Ngqeleni, Mbizana and Tsolo, with Tsolo replacing Dutywa from the first quarter.
For both quarters, the OR Tambo and Amathole districts continued to account for the bulk of reported sexual offence cases.
Despite these concerns, Nqatha said the overall crime trends showed meaningful progress.
“From the crime statistics we can see we have made significant impact,” he said.
“We see big decreases – these are not marginal decreases but two-digit decreases of between 18% and 31%.”
He noted that 17 categories of community-reported serious crimes decreased by 1,838 cases, or 4.9%, during the first quarter of 2025/2026.
In the second quarter, these crimes declined by a further 1,491 cases, or 3.8%.
Nqatha praised policing efforts, singling out the Maluti police station as the overall top achiever at the Eastern Cape Excellence Awards held in Gqeberha in December.
Sergeant Masibulele Qinisile received the Laureate Award for bravery after stopping an armed man during a domestic violence incident.
“These acts contribute to a safer society,” Nqatha said.
However, he cautioned against complacency.
“We welcome the decreases registered in the contact crime category, such as murder, attempted murder and trio crimes.
“However, we remain concerned about the increases registered in rape and attempted sexual offences in both quarters under review.”
In the second quarter, police stations identified as hotspots for community-reported serious crimes included East London, Mthatha, Cambridge, Mount Road and Kabega Park.
Nqatha urged government departments, communities and civil society to work closer with law enforcement, particularly in areas where sexual violence remained entrenched.
“I urge all stakeholders to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to combat violence against women and children whenever it rears its ugly head.
“The loss of even one life is too many.”
While Buffalo City, OR Tambo and Nelson Mandela Bay continued to dominate the crime statistics, Nqatha said he remained optimistic that these districts would follow the downward trend seen elsewhere in the province.
“There is much improvement and there is hope crime could be successfully eradicated there,” he said.
