Cape Town - Gang-related murders in the Western Cape significantly exceed the trend countrywide, Major-General Norman Sekhukhune, head of police crime research and statistics, announced on Tuesday. The statistics cover the period 1 April, 2017 to 31 March, 2018.
According to Sekhukhune, in some instances murders are multiple murders, particularly in the Western Cape, where gang crimes are high.
Out of the 973 gang-related crimes committed countrywide, 808 occurred in the Western Cape, with the Eastern Cape markedly lower in second place at 87. They are followed by the Free State with 46 and Gauteng with 14.
This is one of the reasons why the Western Cape has 10 stations in the top 30 in the country, with 57 people being killed in South Africa every day.
Sekhukhune said firearms were the most-used weapons to commit murders, and that one firearm could be used in more than one incident to commit murder. This is followed by knives, sharp instruments, other unknown items, stones or bricks followed by bare hands.
Gauteng has the most taxi-related murders and also tops mob justice murders, followed by the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.