Illustrative image | Parade at the SAPS college. (Photo: Gallo Images / Foto24 / Craig Nieuwenhuizen) | Law Enforcement at a crime scene on Neptune Lane in Ocean View, Cape Town, on 12 April 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach) 
In the latest crime statistics, nationally murder has gone down somewhat, but has increased in the Western Cape, where 1,148 murders were recorded during quarter one, April to June 2025, and 1,160 from July to September (quarter two).
During those quarters the Western Cape featured heavily on the list of most-recorded murders across the country.
“Last year, the Western Cape recorded a total of 4,467 murders. In only half a year, the province has already reached 2,308 murders, 51.6% of last year’s total. We are only six months in,” said Brett Herron, a Good party member in the provincial legislature.
“This surge is even more shocking when viewed against the national trend, where the country has recorded a decrease in murders. While South Africa moves forward, the Western Cape is falling further behind,” he continued.
Read more: Decline in murders brings little consolation for victims’ families
/file/attachments/2986/Q1_749734_175dbf0128b89a73b13b89eb67a7a921.png "Source: SAPS Q2 2025/26 crime statistics.")
/file/attachments/2986/Screenshot2025-12-14at091427_799712.png "Source: SAPS Q2 2025/26 crime statistics.")
Mfuleni crisis
“We are in a crisis, we need urgent intervention,” said Wesbank Community Policing Forum leader Mvano Magula about the murders in Mfuleni, a suburb of Cape Town.
In the second quarter, Mfuleni recorded the highest number of murders countrywide, with 84 in 2024/25. In the same time period in 2023/24 that figure stood at 58 – a 44.8% increase.
Mfuleni also reported the second-highest number of total crimes between July and September, with 1,927 reported crimes across the country, an increase of 11% compared with 2024, with 1,730 reported crimes.
Speaking to Daily Maverick, Magula said the high murder rate could be linked to ongoing taxi violence and extortion.
/file/attachments/2986/Code_Generated_Image1_841847_eb7e85bb7972f4e17029d9606bb51f83_611186.png "Cape Town's top five murder hotspots. (Source: SAPS Q2 2025/26 crime statistics.)")
“The very problem we are having in Muleni [is] the gangsterism and the extortion… So all these killings are gang-related violence, so they are gang related,” he said.
Magula pointed to policing problems in the area: the huge area the police station covers, the lack of a permanent police station and a lack of vehicles.
The police station covered areas including Wesbank, Bardale, Silversands, Driftsands and Brentwood Park, as well as informal settlements such as Covid-19, Bosasa and Burundi.
Magula said the police station itself was not accessible, with some residents having to walk about 5km or 8km to get there. This was compounded by a lack of police vehicles. The police station is not in Mfuleni, but in Blue Downs.
Residents endured other problems, including gender-based violence, which contributed to crime.
All of this came to a head in September when Mfuleni residents told Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia that young children were being buried, and pleaded with him to do something to save their children.
Read more: Cachalia outlines strategy to combat Western Cape gangsterism and extortion
The City of Cape Town will make 380 square metres of office space available in a municipal building for policing, said mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis after a meeting with Cachalia.
In the medium to long term, Hill-Lewis also offered the SAPS the adjoining erf for construction of a fully fledged police station infuture. DM