Africa-Press – South-Africa. From child and women murders to mass shootings at taverns, rapes, and kidnappings, crime in South Africa continues to send shockwaves across the country.
While presenting the crime statistics reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) from 1 July to 30 September 2022, Minister Bheki Cele said the high levels of abuse and murder of women were worrying and unacceptable.
Cele said that a double-digit percentage increase was recorded over the three-month period for murder, attempted murder, and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) against women.
He announced that more than 13 000 women were victims of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, 1 277 women were victims of attempted murder, and 989 women were murdered between July and September.
From April to the end of September, 558 children were killed in the country.
Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke of how all these murders and rapes that happened in the country told a story about our society that was deeply disturbing.
News24 has listed some of the most shocking and heart-wrenching crime stories in South Africa in 2022.
Klawer: Jerobejin van Wyk
The small town of Klawer in the Western Cape was rocked by the heinous murder of 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk back in February.
The teen had gone missing days earlier, and his remains were found in sewage pipes at the home of 56-year-old Daniel Smit.
The remains were confirmed to be that of the teenager, who had gone missing days before the gruesome discovery.
Smit faces charges of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, defeating the ends of justice, and failure to report the incident to the police.
He was referred to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital in Cape Town for a 30-day psychiatric evaluation after a psychologist highlighted that Smit needed to be properly evaluated by a psychiatrist.
Following Smit’s arrest, shocking details emerged that the killing is believed to be linked to occult activities.
Santie Human, Smit’s attorney, told journalists outside the Klawer Magistrate’s Court at his first court appearance that her client had confessed to killing four people in Sea Point. She said Smit had “spiritual problems” and did not have a mental illness.
Enyobeni tavern tragedy
In East London, what was supposed to be a regular weekend party, turned into tragedy.
During a celebration of “hlanjwa iphepha (pens down)”, a tradition celebrating the end of school exams, 21 people were killed in the Enyobeni Tavern in June. Nine girls and twelve boys aged between 13 and 17 died in the tragedy.
The provincial health department last month told relatives that the 21 youngsters had died of suffocation at the overcrowded tavern.
In July, the owner of Enyobeni Tavern, Siyakhangela Ndevu (52), and two of his employees were arrested. The arrests came after the Eastern Cape Liquor Board laid charges at the Scenery Park Police Station.
They made a brief appearance in the East London Magistrate’s Court last month, where their trial date was set for 25 April 2023.
Mdlalose tavern shooting
In July, more than 130 AK-47 cartridges were collected from the scene at Mdlalose Tavern in Soweto where 16 patrons were brutally gunned down.
Bloodstains could still be seen at the tavern, and empty beer bottles were scattered outside during government visits following the shooting. The tavern’s steel door was riddled with bullet holes.
Five men were arrested and have since appeared in court. During their latest appearance, earlier in December, one of the accused, a former Hawks branch commander, told the Orlando Magistrate’s Court that the victims of the massacre were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The former police officer, whom the court ordered not to be identified, claimed the murders were caused by clashes between two Basotho rival burial societies, namely Terene ea Khosi Chakela and Terene ea Khosi Mokata.
The man testified that the two groups assisted with the burials of miners from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Botswana who died in South Africa.
Rosettenville shootout
The violent scene in February, described as a “war zone” by eyewitnesses, saw police rush to Rosettenville, where they exchanged fire with heavily armed men believed to have been involved in cash-in-transit heists and suspected to be en route to pull off another job.
At least four police officers were injured, and eight people were shot dead in the process, News24 previously reported. Ten men were arrested in connection with the shooting and appeared in Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
The men face eight counts of murder, as well as charges of attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, possession of explosives, possession of hijacked vehicles, and conspiracy to commit a cash-in-transit heist.
Khayelitsha shooting
In Khayelitsha, there have been a number of violent incidents. But in the informal settlement of Endlovini, five people were killed in the early hours of the morning of 14 March.
The killing prompted police to initiate a 72-hour activation plan to search the area for clues. It even prompted Police Minister Bheki Cele to visit the scene.
German tourist killed in ambush
A 67-year-old German tourist was gunned down after three armed men ambushed him, his wife, and another couple.
They were travelling from the Drakensberg to Mdluli Safari Lodge in the Kruger National Park.
The man sat behind the steering wheel, drenched in blood from a single bullet wound, as his wife begged him not to die. The tourists’ vehicle also crashed into the Heroes Academy school.
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