Thohoyandou crime spike worries provincial police

LIMPOPO – Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has expressed concern over the rising number of sexual offences and house robberies reported in the Thohoyandou precinct.

Despite the overall drop in violent crime across the province, Thohoyandou remains a hotspot – particularly for rape, attempted rape and residential robberies.

Speaking at a media briefing at the Land Bank building in Polokwane last Wednesday, Hadebe pointed out the area’s geographic challenges:

“Thohoyandou is close to the border with Zimbabwe, near Musina, which sees a high movement of people, including some undocumented foreign nationals.

“This contributes to the policing challenges in the area,” she said.

To ease pressure on the station and improve response, the police plan to open new police stations in Khubvi and Phiphidi villages.

The briefing, attended by the MEC for Community Safety, Violet Mathye, district commissioners and other senior police officials, was held to share the province’s latest fourth quarter crime statistics for 2024/25.

Key highlights for Limpopo as a province include:

• Murder down by 26% year-on-year.
• Attempted murder down 11%.
• Assault with intent to cause grievous harm down 16%.
• Common robbery down 8.2%.
• Aggravated robbery down 20.2%.
• Carjackings decreased, with 42 fewer cases reported.

Additionally, 589 arrests were made by the police’s family violence, child protection and sexual offences units. Eight offenders received life sentences and 29 others were sentenced to a combined 252 years for sexual offences.

Residential robberies, however, rose by 12.1%. The police also recovered 80 stolen or hijacked vehicles and confiscated 549 knives and 27 pangas.

“These numbers reflect real progress. Lives have been saved, and communities are safer. We will keep working to bring peace and safety to all parts of Limpopo,” Hadebe remarked.

The MEC shared these sentiments. “Limpopo is on track to become a national example of effective crime prevention through community partnerships.”