Mkhwanazi laments surge in crime rate as fallen officer is laid to rest

POLICE officer Sandile Dlamini, who was fatally shot in Inanda last week, has become yet another victim in the growing list of officers killed by violent criminals in KwaZulu-Natal. Dlamini, who was off duty at the time of the attack, will be laid to rest today in his hometown of Ixopo, south of the province.

His close relative, Thabani Mkhize, said: “We are saddened to be burying our beloved brother. He loved his family and his job. We hope and pray that the people behind his killing are arrested and convicted.”

KZN police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, addressed the media in Durban on Monday, expressing concern over the high number of civilians being killed in the province.

In the first nine months of the 2024/25 financial year, 105 suspected criminals, including murderers, cash-in-transit robbers, armed robbers, and extortionists, were killed during 38 shootout incidents with police. During the same period, four police officers were killed in the line of duty.

Some of the major incidents that made headlines: 

• In April 2024, nine suspects were shot dead in Mariannhill.
• In September 2024, six extortionists were shot dead in South Beach. 
• In December 2024, eight suspects were shot dead in Richards Bay. 
• In February 2025, five suspects were shot dead in Ntuzuma. 

Some of the mass murders in KZN in the first nine months of the financial year included: 

• In June, five family members were shot dead and two were injured in the Magwaza area in uMzinto. Police are following positive leads. 
• Also in June, eight people were shot dead on Helpmekaar Road in Ezakheni. Four suspects were arrested with firearms.
• In September, seven family members were shot dead in Highflats. Four suspects were shot dead in two separate shootout incidents. 
• In October, four people were shot dead at a family gathering in Amangwe. Five suspects were arrested.

Mkhwanazi stated that the number of attacks on citizens exceeds those on police officers.

He said: “4,278 people were killed in this province, in nine months, and only 105 criminals died. Which means criminals are at war with the citizens.”

Mkhwanazi said during that time, four police officers died, with many of them coming under attack. 

Mkhwanazi agreed that everyone had the right to life, but the 'innocent should be protected more than those who cause terror'. 

He added they intend to arrest, not kill.

The province has seen a shift in criminal activity in recent years. According to Mkhwanazi, the Covid-19 pandemic briefly slowed criminal activity, but crime surged again once restrictions were lifted.

Mkhwanazi said that in 2020, a total of 65 685 cases were registered, a number that has since skyrocketed to 88 000 in just the first nine months of the latest financial year. 

“So, that - in terms of contact crime - remains the biggest contributor for us right across all these years,” Mkhwanazi said.

On sexual related cases, including rape, sexual assaults and attempted sexual offenses, Mkhwanazi said: “While rape remains the biggest problem for us at the total, when we started in 2020 we registered more rape cases than we registered murders, 4 954 cases were recorded that year.

“But we’ve seen the increase on rape also in 2021 to 5 885 cases. Again, in 2022 still an increase of rape cases, up to 6 338 cases,” said Mkhwanazi.

Additional Reporting: Lungani Zungu

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