Amnesty International SA said the high rate of crime in SA was a “shocking” concern for the right to life and the government’s failure to protect people.
On Friday the police ministry released quarterly crime statistics which pointed to an 8.9% increase in murder between October and December 2021.
“It is disturbing that 6,859 people were murdered in the country in a space of just three months. This is 562 more people compared to the previous period. It is clear that people are not safe anywhere in SA. Urgent action is needed from the government and the SA Police Service,” said Amnesty International SA’s executive director Shenilla Mohamed.
“The fact that the top four causative factors of these deaths include vigilantism, revenge or retaliation shows that people have no trust in the police, resulting in some wrongfully taking the law into their hands. It’s the situation we saw during the July unrest,” said Mohamed.
The organisation voiced concern at the government failing the country’s women as the statistics showed a 4.2% increase in female murders.