In Gauteng, murder is the biggest killer

Deaths as a result of murder are filling up mortuaries in Gauteng more than any other cause, the latest statistics suggest.

According to Gauteng health department spokesperson Philani Mahlangu, the biggest cause of unnatural deaths as per Gauteng state mortuaries for the past financial year was violence, with 4,894 deaths recorded as a result of gunshots, stabbings and assaults.

This topped stats for the Western Cape, which was statistically the second-most violent province after the Eastern Cape and the second-most populated province after Gauteng.

Western Cape statistics showed that for murder as a category, its health department’s forensics wing recorded 3,439 cases in the last financial year.

Gauteng state mortuaries recorded 2,416 gunshot deaths – the biggest cause of death – followed by motor vehicle accidents and stabbings at 1,695 and 1,295 respectively.

According to Mahlangu, these figures were recorded at state mortuaries, reflecting deaths at the incident scene, or people who survived the initial trauma, but died of complications at home or at healthcare facilities.

For the Western Cape, 1,214 road traffic deaths were recorded, but separate categories for stabbing and gunshots were not available. This meant the murder rate was ostensibly higher in the Western Cape, given that the province’s population was just 6,844,272, compared with Gauteng’s 15,175,116.

But Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku said “the rate of unnatural deaths as result of violence” was cause for serious concern for the province.

“Accident and emergency departments in our hospitals are the busiest around month-end, with a notably high number of gunshot wounds, stabbings and motor vehicle accident patients coming in.

“One of the contributing factors is the high level of alcohol consumption, which leads to violence and reckless driving.”

Earlier this year, Gauteng’s official crime stats showed that the province had the highest recorded number of murders in the country: 4,495 in the 2018/2019 financial year.

But the highest murder rate in the country, taking population numbers into account, was still the Eastern Cape, where 3,965 murders were recorded in the province with a population of 6.7 million.

– simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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