JOHANNESBURG, Aug 30: Nearly 6,200 people were murdered in South Africa between April and June, police figures showed Friday, as tackling crime poses a key issue for the new coalition government.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said that 6,198 people were murdered during the three months, a 0.5-percent decrease over the same period a year earlier.
"These numbers tell a sobering story, reflecting the severity of the challenges we face," he told a Cape Town press conference.
South Africa has one of the highest peacetime per capita homicide rates in the world.
Rapes, in a country notorious for sex attacks against women and children, increased by 0.6 percent, compared to the same three-month period last year.
The country recorded a total of 9,309 rapes between April and June.
Police also said there were 44,735 drug-related crimes detected as a result of police action during the period.
"We have carried out significant operations targeting drug syndicates, leading to the seizure of substantial quantities of illegal narcotics," the minister said.
Last month, three Mexicans and two South Africans were arrested when elite police units raided a multi-million-dollar crystal meth lab hidden in a remote farm north of Johannesburg.
In a separate incident, a Russian man was arrested along with a South African after police seized 14 bags filled with bricks of cocaine worth 252 million rand (almost $14 million).
Crime is a key issue facing President Cyril Ramaphosa's new coalition government after his African National Congress was forced into an uneasy coalition with the centrist Democratic Alliance and other smaller parties following May elections.
"These numbers represent more than just figures on a page; they reflect the lived realities of our citizens -- their fears, their losses and their hopes for a safer tomorrow," Mchunu said. —AFP
