South Africa’s murder capital under siege by criminals

South Africa’s police ministry is closing in on Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan municipality, which has been ranked as the most violent city in the country.

The metro, which has an annual murder rate of 70.8 per 100,000 people, has consistently ranked as the most violent city in the country based on SAPS data.

It is also one of the most violent cities in the world, ranking 14th in the Mexican Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice’s annual top 50 ranking.

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has now engaged in high-level meetings with stakeholders in the city to explore ways to enhance crime fighting in the region and tackle its biggest issues.

According to the ministry, crime statistics show that violent crimes, kidnappings, extortion and gang-related activities remain the biggest points of concern.

Extortion in particular has become a growing issue, and is often tied to the other forms of crime flagged by communities.

The region has seen several high-profile kidnappings in the past year, where Chinese and Pakistani nationals were explicitly targeted.

Places of worship have also been targeted by criminals, where congregants have been robbed during services. Most recently, a visiting US pastor was kidnapped and held for ransom.

Mchunu also met with the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, which presented challenges faced by companies in the metro due to crime.

This is a wider problem in the Eastern Cape province, where crime levels have become so bad that investors are turning away.

Again, extortion and the targeting of businesspeople through kidnappings have had a devastating impact on the province’s economic prospects as a result.

The Chamber’s CEO, Denise van Huyssteen, said that high poverty and unemployment levels contribute to criminality in the province.

However, she added that this is no excuse for poor policing, stressing that the SAPS must allocate more resources in the region or face an exodus of investment.

The police minister also met with representatives from the Chinese community and religious leaders on ways to collaborate to combat these crimes.

Various proposals were made as part of the engagements to supplement the strategic interventions currently in place to combat these crimes and improve public safety.

The minister promised to explore these proposals, saying that the safety of the communities impacted by crime is non-negotiable.

The worst province in South Africa for violent crime

According to the latest crime statistics from the South African Police Service and Stats SA, the Eastern Cape has the highest levels of violent crime in two key categories: rape and murder.

For the period under review—October to December 2024—the province recorded a murder rate of 19.6 per 100,000 people, above the 16.0 per 100,000 in the Western Cape.

Regarding rape, the province recorded a rate of 28.7 per 100,000 people, just above the Free State’s rate of 28.4 per 100,000.

The Eastern Cape also had the highest rate of attempted sexual offences and stock theft.

Looking at the levels of violence on an annual basis, the data compiled by the Mexican Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice in association with the Mexican Commission on Human Rights, puts the Eastern Cape’s murder rate at 70.8 per 100,000 people.

This is above Cape Town’s murder rate at 70.2 per 100,000 people, and Durban’s 53.4 per 100,000.

Notably, another city in the Eastern Cape—East London, or Buffalo City metro municipality—is also now ranked among the 50 most violent cities in the world, with a murder rate of 60.2 per 100,000 people.

For greater context, the average murder rate of the 50 worst cities in the world is 56.8 homicides per 100,000 people.

21 cities in the ranking are above that average rate, including every South African city except Joburg, which has a murder rate of 49.0 per 100,000 people.

Kidnappings, which are showing an upward trend, are less prominent in the Eastern Cape compared to other provinces.

They are most prevalent in Gauteng, where they were recorded at a rate of 14.8 per 100,000 people over the three-month period.

This is almost double the rate recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (7.6), which ranks second. The Eastern Cape had the second lowest rate of kidnappings (3.1), just ahead of Limpopo (2.9).

Most cases of kidnappings are related to ransom demands, with extortion becoming a growing motive.