The Daily Dispatch in September 2022 published an article with the headline: It’s official. Eastern Cape is SA’s most dangerous province.
The article drew the ire of those in power, who slammed it for being sensational and inaccurate.
We dismissed the criticism because the statement was backed up by facts contained in the crime statistics, which stated that the Eastern Cape had the highest murder rate per capita.
It still holds that title. Highlighting the scourge of violent crimes in the Eastern Cape is to bring attention to the problem but, more importantly, to open the dialogue on interventions to curb violent crimes.
At the weekend, the province was once again thrust into the national spotlight when 18 people were murdered in Ngobozana village in Lusikisiki.
It is one of several mass killings witnessed in the province in recent years.
In May, seven people were killed in an ambush near Willowvale. Four of those were members of the same family, including an eight-year-old boy.
In June, 10 members of the same family were shot dead in separate incidents in Tsolo and the Western Cape.
In the Ngobozana mass killing, nine family members were killed. The victims were preparing for a traditional ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of two relatives.
Police minister Senzo Mchunu, premier Oscar Mabuyane and a high-level delegation from the SA Police Service (SAPS) visited Ngobozana on Tuesday as the hunt for the people behind the bloodbath continues.
Community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha posed the following question to the SAPS: why do the residents of Ngobozana feel unsafe given their proximity to the state-of-the-art Lusikisiki police station?
Earlier this year, residents marched on the Lusikisiki police station and pleaded for more officers to respond to the criminals tormenting communities.
The answer to Nqatha’s question would be interesting, but it should be asked at a higher level too.
What interventions have been implemented to help the province shake this dubious title as the country’s murder capital?
Why do the people of the Eastern Cape feel unsafe in their homes and communities?
What interventions have been implemented to help the province shake this dubious title as the country’s murder capital?
Mchunu, when releasing the crime statistics for the fourth quarter of the 2023/2024 financial year and the first quarter of 2024/2025, said: “We will not rest until every South African can walk the streets without fear.”
The responsibility of addressing this crisis lies heavily on the shoulders of the government and law enforcement agencies, which must become more proactive in fighting the scourge of violent crimes in our province.
The time for action is now — lives depend on it.
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