The number of kidnapping cases continues to rise annually, and it is a great cause for concern for ordinary South Africans. This increase is associated with the rising levels of organised violent crime in the country, such as extortion and human trafficking.
The alarm over such crimes came after police found 90 undocumented Ethiopian nationals being trafficked into South Africa. They were found locked, confined and crammed into rooms at a property in Sunnydale Ridge, Johannesburg.
In his weekly newsletter, Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted that South Africa’s crime-fighting has had to evolve in response to new types of crime which include illicit mining, construction site extortion and kidnappings. He says that the successes of Operation Shanela have shown the benefits of multi-sectoral collaboration and the value of specialised task teams.
The infographic below illustrates how kidnapping cases have increased over the past ten years:
51 kidnappings per day
The South African Police Services (SAPS) latest crime statistics for the third quarter of 2023 (October to December 2023) show that kidnappings have increased by 11% year-on-year from 4124 cases (Oct 2022 to Dec 2022) to 4577 cases (Oct 2023 to Dec 2023). This equates to approximately 51 kidnappings per day in South Africa during that period.
Most victims are women and children. The high numbers have also contributed to the growth of the private security sector.
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