The Ehlanzeni District has seen a sharp increase in the number of murders and kidnappings in the latest release of crime statistics by the Mpumalanga police.

The crime statistics for the third quarter of the 2023/24 financial year were officially released at the provincial police head office on Tuesday March 12.

Leading the announcement on Tuesday were the provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, and the Mpumalanga MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Vusi Shongwe. They addressed members of the media and representatives of local stakeholders. The SAPS’s provincial head of the crime registrar, Brigadier Bakang Pooa, read out the crime statistics.

These statistics cover the period from October to December 2023, and the Ehlanzeni District outdoes both Nkangala and Gert Sibande districts in certain crimes. It is in murder that Ehlanzeni most notably stands out, however, with a 68.8% rise from the same period in 2022.

From October to December 2022, the Ehlanzeni District’s police recorded 128 murders, while last year, this rose to 216. This reflects the sharpest rise in murder among Mpumalanga’s three districts, and makes up 44.49% of the province’s total murders.

ALSO READ: KaBokweni man sentenced to life for murder of woman by fire

Another crime in which Ehlanzeni outdid its neighbours is kidnapping, which showed a 65.8% increase. This makes Ehlanzeni the only Mpumalanga district to see an increase in kidnapping, with a total of 121 cases compared to 73 over the same period in 2022.

Moving further down the list, there was also a 38% rise in attempted murders in Ehlanzeni from October to December 2023 – up from 163 to 225. Commercial crime rose by 30% from 500 cases to 650, and common robbery increased by 25.1% from 179 to 224 cases. Sexual offences rose by 13%. Included in this is a rise of 13.1% in rape cases. Sexual assault, however, decreased by four cases.

Property-related crime in Ehlanzeni was on the downturn in the third quarter, decreasing by 18.9%, but it does come with a major asterisk attached. The Nelspruit station still ranks at number 11 in the country for property-related crimes.

Nelspruit ranks among the top 30 in the country in three crimes – burglary at non-residential premises (first), theft out of or from a motor vehicle (21st) and burglary at residential premises (30th). Nelspruit ranked highly in the country in two other crimes, too – fourth in culpable homicide and 22nd in commercial crime.

The Calcutta Police Station ranked highly in the country in six instances as well. Calcutta came in fifth for robbery at non-residential premises and sixth for robbery at residential premises. Furthermore, it ranked 10th for contact sexual offences, 18th for rape, 18th in trio crimes (carjacking, house robbery and business robbery) and finally 23rd for robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Bushbuckridge also ranked highly in three crimes. For robbery at non-residential premises, it ranked 16th, and for robbery at residential premises, it ranked 25th. Bushbuckridge ranked 17th in the country for kidnapping with 36 recorded cases, meaning it makes up 29.75% of the Ehlanzeni District’s reported kidnappings.

ALSO READ: Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court denies bail of three accused of Dr Nicholas Procter’s murder

Finally, the Pienaar Police Station ranked at number 26 in SA for rape cases, while Hazyview ranked at number 27 in the country for cases of truck hijacking.

Despite the vast number of increases in serious crimes within the Ehlanzeni District, it still managed to show a decrease in the total number of cases. Ehlanzeni showed 8 799 cases over the three-month period from October to December 2023, a 1.5% decrease from the same quarter in 2022.

It makes up 35.5% of the province’s reported crimes, only just outdone by the Nkangala District, which makes up 36.2%, while Gert Sibande makes up the remaining 28.3%.