JOHANNESBURG

Nearly 10,000 rape cases and more than 6,100 murders were reported in South Africa between July and September this year, according to official data released on Friday.

The number of rape cases stood at 9,556 – an increase of 634, or 7.1%, from the third quarter of 2020 – while murders were up by 1,056, or 20.7%, to 6,163, the country’s latest crime statistics showed.

There were also 72,762 cases of assault in South Africa in the third quarter of 2021.

“This data proves again that South Africa is a very violent country,” Police Minister Bheki Cele said at a news briefing.

He termed the soaring rape figures “deeply disturbing” and a “disgrace.”

“The majority of the rape victims are women and those most vulnerable in our society. A sample of 6,144 rape cases revealed that 3,951 took place at either the home of the victim or the rapist,” he said.

On the increase in violence, Cele said a major factor was the unrest in July after former President Jacob Zuma was imprisoned.

Zuma’s incarceration sparked widespread riots and looting in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which claimed more than 200 lives.

The latest crime data showed KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of murders – 1,744 – between July and September, an increase of 536 from the corresponding period last year.

The figure was 229 for Gauteng, which is home to South Africa’s largest city Johannesburg and capital Pretoria.​​​​​​​