Crime stats: Cele says KZN's high murder rate is worrying
KwaZulu-Natal's murder rate went up between January and March this year - compared to the same period last year.
Police Minister Bheki Cele released the crime statistics on Friday.
He says arguments were one of the leading factors of murders.
"It is concerning that the Eastern Cape and the KwaZulu-Natal provinces recorded double digit increases, standing at 21,5% and 16.9% respectively.
"The top four causative factors of these murders still remain arguments, robberies, both residential and non-residential and street robberies, mob justice and gang-related incidents."
Nearly five thousand people were killed in South Africa in the first quarter of this year.
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The minister says 389 more people were killed during this quarter compared to the same period last year.
He says rape was down by 4 percent. Over 9 518 people raped during this time in the country.
While there's been a decline in sexual offence cases, the Inanda police station in Durban had the second highest number of reported rape incidents after the Lusikisiki police station in the Eastern Cape.
"The sexual violence meted against women in this country is simply shameful. Seemingly men and children are not spared.
"A sample of 6 893 of the rape incidents revealed that 4 130 of such incidents took place at the home of the victim or the home of the alleged rapist."
