'A province in deep crisis': Western Cape murder toll hits 2,308 in just six months

The Western Cape recorded an alarming 2,308 murders during the first six months of the 2025/2026 financial year. "This is a province in deep crisis", said Brett Heron, Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.

Reacting to the delayed release of the latest crime statistics, Herron warned that the figures reveal a dangerous escalation of violence while the provincial government “has lost both the moral courage and political will” to respond effectively.

“In the first quarter alone, murders increased from 1,138 last year to 1,148 this year,” Herron said.

“Behind each number is a life taken and a community left reeling. Every week brings yet another mass shooting.”

Some of the hardest-hit communities include Delft, Mfuleni and Kraaifontein, where residents continue to face relentless gun violence. Mfuleni recorded 156 murders across Q1 and Q2 — already 61.4% of last year’s total murders at the station.

Herron stressed that the broader picture is dire.

“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.”

The contrast with national trends has raised further questions about the effectiveness of the Western Cape Government’s crime-fighting strategy.

“This surge is even more shocking when viewed against the national trend, where the country has recorded a decrease in murders,” Herron noted.

“While South Africa moves forward, the Western Cape is falling further behind.”

Gang violence remains a key driver of the bloodshed. Of the 632 gang-related murders recorded nationally in the first half of the year, 575, an average of 91%, occurred in the Western Cape.

Herron said residents “have gunfire as the background noise of daily life, while the state’s response grows quieter and more inadequate with each passing week.”

He criticised the recently launched Western Cape Safety Plan 2.0, saying it offers no meaningful solutions.

“What was presented was disappointing at best and dangerously evasive at worst,” Herron said.

“The silence that followed speaks volumes.”

He argued that without meaningful social investment and stronger, community-centred policing, the province will not see change.

“The Western Cape’s murder rate was already an unacceptable 15.2 per 100,000 people in Q1 of 2025/2026. Any increase in a figure that high is not simply a statistic; it is an indictment of failed leadership.”

“Lives are being lost not because the crisis is unsolvable,” Herron said.

“But because the political will to act decisively is missing.”

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