DA pushes for more police stations to combat crime
This comes after the increasing reports of rape cases in areas of Mpumalanga
The Mpumalanga DA has said it would continue to push for more police stations in the province, especially in areas identified as crime hotspots, such as Pienaar, KaBokweni and eMkhondo in Mbombela.
We are concerned about the ever-increasing cases of rape in the province, and more worrying is that three of our police stations are in the top 30 nationally where many cases of rape have been reported.
Reacting shortly after the release of crime statistics that depicted a worrisome picture for the province, especially when it comes to contact crimes such as rape and murder, the DA’s spokesperson for community safety, security and liaison, Teboho Sekaledi, said they would write to the MEC for this department, Jackie Macie, requesting a meeting with him to discuss his plans of dealing with these cases in the province, as well as the challenges facing those SAPS officers who work tirelessly to combat serious crimes in Mpumalanga.
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“We are concerned about the ever-increasing cases of rape in the province, and more worrying is that three of our police stations are in the top 30 nationally where many cases of rape have been reported,” said Sekaledi.
According to the recent crime statistics report, which focuses on the period from April to June 2024, KaBokweni, Pienaar and eMkhondo are the rape capitals of Mpumalanga. These three areas’ police stations are even mentioned in the top 30 police stations around the country where the most rape cases have been reported.
According to the stats, KaBokweni Police Station recorded 41 rape cases from April to June 2024. This is almost double the 21 reported between April and June 2020.
It is deeply concerning that sexual violent cases have increased in the province, which demonstrates that government’s current interventions are not yielding positive results in terms of fighting and preventing sex-related crimes.
Pienaar Police Station recorded 35 rape cases in the same three-month period, while Piet Retief Police Station also recorded 35 cases of rape from April to June. This is more than triple the 12 cases reported in the same period in 2020.
The report has also placed KaBokweni and Piet Retief among the top 30 police stations across the country that saw major increases in reported cases of rape compared with April to June 2020.
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Altogether, 614 cases of rape were reported in Mpumalanga in the period between April to June 2024.
“More worrisome is the fact that 316 of those cases were reported to have been committed by people known to the victims, like family and friends. It is deeply concerning that sexual violent cases have increased in the province, which demonstrates that government’s current interventions are not yielding positive results in terms of fighting and preventing sex-related crimes,” added Sekaledi.
He said they would engage the MEC to find amicable solutions to these problems.
