By Kouthar Sambo

The festive season has seen a significant spike in murders and violent crimes, leaving residents concerned about the crime rate.

According to Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, more than 956 firearms have been recovered and over 11,000 undocumented individuals were arrested. Mathe added that efforts to deport them are underway.

Speaking on VOC’s Breakfast show on Thursday, Cape Town Cluster Community Police Forum (CPF) Chairperson and Western Cape Provincial Board Member Justin Kumlehn said the Western Cape police are investigating a case of femicide in Bishop Lavis, which took place on Christmas Day.

This comes after the 20-year-old woman was found dead in Perelberg Street on Monday morning. However, these incidents are not exclusive to Bishop Lavis.

“The last update we had is that the female has not been identified yet and they are investigating. This is a very dire and sad situation, and it makes one wonder has the family has not noticed someone is missing,” explained Kumlehn.

The most recent violent incidents took place on Christmas Eve, said Kumlehn, where five people lost their lives due to a stabbing incident.

“One in Delft, two in Elsies River, two in Khayelitsha, and an incident that has made the news recently was the Gugulethu Community Policing Forum deputy chairperson, Lulama ‘Guffy’ Dinginto who was murdered in her home. The Cape Flats is leading when it comes to severe crimes and murders,” detailed Kumlehn.

These murders take place all year around and not only during festive, and it should not be normalised, said Kumlehn.

“Opportunistic crimes such as assault, smash and grab, are usually escalated during festive, but as disheartening as it is to say, the murders are still stable. But this is not a positive at all because there are still way too many murders and violent crimes,” reiterated Kumlehn.

Photo: VOCfm