A total number of nine police stations in OR Tambo appeared in the top 30 stations in the Eastern Cape in a number of crimes, including leading in contact crimes and rape.
This was revealed in the 2024/25 third quarter crime statistics as revealed by Transport and Community Safety MEC, Xolile Nqatha, on March 11. The statistics cover the period between October and December 2024.
In the 17 community-reported serious crimes top 30 police stations, Mthatha is in second position with Lusikisiki on position 10, Madeira on 13, Qumbu 21 and Libode on 23. In the contact crime category, Mthatha leads the province at number one with 609 reported cases, showing a decrease of 11 cases during the same period in 2023.
“The spate of successes in combating crime is indeed setting our province on a high note and is placing our crime-fighting efforts at a far better level towards gaining public confidence,” he said.
Lusikisiki is at position four and shows a decrease of 12 cases to 396; Ngqeleni is at 12 with 267 cases; Libode has 250 cases at 16 with Qumbu having registered 221 cases at 27.
Nqatha said there were 39 murder cases reported in Mthatha, placing it at position five in the province and followed by Bhityi at six with 11 more cases to 34 compared to the 2023 third period.
There are seven other police stations from OR Tambo. Nqatha said the most used weapons were firearms, responsible for 474 murders followed by knives, having taken 258 lives.
“Multiple murders at school: six community patrollers were killed while having a meeting at the school premises in Thina Falls. Multiple murders at a residential place: the family members were sleeping when the suspects came and fatally shot five family members and injured two children,” Nqatha said.
The number of police murders remained one each for on-duty and off-duty officers in 2024/25, Nqatha said. There were five cases reported at farms and small holdings – a decrease of two cases. Qumbu is leading the province in stock theft with 120 registered cases, followed by Tsolo with 98.
Other cases include:
• Mthatha with 92 from 80 in 2023;
• Britain with 88 from 58;
• Sulenkama with 73 from 43;
• Libode with 34 from 65;
• Flagstaff with 23 from 14;
• Lusikisiki with 19 from 25;
• Kwaaiman with 18 from 2; and
• Ngqeleni with 17 from 10.
“The number of cases registered does not represent the number of stock stolen. One case can have multiple numbers of stock stolen,” he said.
