Nearly 80,000 unsolved murder cases closed in SA since 2018

Lester Kiewit interviews Lisa‐Maré Schickerling, the Democratic Alliance's (DA) deputy spokesperson on police matters.

Listen below.

Did you know that nearly 80,000 unsolved murder cases have been closed by the police since 2018?

This represents a denial of justice for countless victims, their families, and survivors, making it easy to get away with murder in South Africa.

From 2018/2019 through 31 December 2023, the following number of dockets were closed without resolution, according to the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu:

• Murder: 76,655
• Attempted Murder: 40,089
• Assault GBH: 141,026
• Aggravated Robbery: 256,162
• Rape: 61,740
• Sexual Assault: 5,523
• Kidnapping: 9,114

"It was quite an eyeopener when we received these statistics."

- Lisa‐Maré Schickerling, Deputy Spokesperson on police matters – DA

Schickerling explains that many of these dockets were closed due to insufficient evidence and leads.

She also notes that the police have been struggling to cope with inadequate staff and resources, which helps to explain the ongoing lack of justice.

"Unfortunately, the case load is of such a high number that each detective has between 350 and 400 dockets laying on their tables at the moment."

- Lisa‐Maré Schickerling, Deputy Spokesperson on police matters – DA

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.