Crime category qualms

POLITICAL murders which engulfed KwaZulu-Natal have not been recorded as a specific crime category, in statistics released yesterday.

Briefing the media in Parliament, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said political murders do not arise in the statistics for the 2016/17 financial year.

Mbalula said the type of crimes linked to political murders were referred to as ordinary murders.

He said people needed to understand the nature of violence in KwaZulu-Natal, which included family killings.

“If family is killed, our job is to investigate and understand. It would be referred to as murder in general,” Mbalula said.

But, in a parliamentary reply to the EFF’s Phillip Mhlongo earlier this month, Mbalula revealed that 45 councillors had been killed between 2009 and August 2017. KwaZuluNatal led with 24 such cases.

Also not included in the crime statistics for the year under review are kidnapping cases. Mbalula said kidnapping was a worrying phenomenon.

He said there were a few Muslim people in South Africa who had been kidnapped.

“I’m aware of high-profile cases, and it is being attended to,” Mbalula said.

Acting national commissioner Lesetja Mothiba said kidnapping for a ransom was new to South Africa.

“There is a big involvement of foreigners. I would request, through you chairman, not to go into detail,” Mothiba said.

“There are big plans by the crime intelligence,” he added.