More than 40,000 rape cases and 24,692 murders reported in 2024/25 — Cachalia

Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia has revealed grim crime figures, with more than 40,000 rape cases and 190,000 common assaults recorded in the 2024/25 financial year.

Replying to questions in parliament on Thursday, Cachalia provided the figures in response to a question by MP Makashule Gana, who asked the minister about the number of serious crimes reported during the financial year and how many cases were referred for prosecution and resulted in convictions, acquittals or dismissals.

According to Cachalia, South Africa recorded 24,692 murders, 27,630 attempted murders and 40,475 rape cases over the period.

There were also 179,183 cases of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) and 190,923 common assault cases.

The reported crime figures are reflected in the South African Police Service’s 2024/25 annual report.

The parliamentary reply also provides insight into what happened to some cases after being reported to police.

Of the murder cases, 10,129 were referred for prosecution, with 3,628 resulting in convictions. A further 893 resulted in acquittals, while 893 were recorded as dismissals.

For attempted murder, 12,714 cases were referred for prosecution, resulting in 1,880 convictions, 436 acquittals and 436 dismissals.

The figures for GBH were considerably higher, with 121,630 cases referred for prosecution. Of these, 11,692 resulted in convictions, while 2,034 resulted in acquittals and the same number in dismissals.

For common assault, 113,696 cases were referred for prosecution, with 9,394 resulting in convictions, 1,919 in acquittals and 1,919 dismissals.

Meanwhile, 23,363 rape cases were referred for prosecution, resulting in 4,229 convictions, 1,495 acquittals and 1,495 dismissals.

Cachalia said the prosecution figures should not be read as a direct outcome of only crimes reported during 2024/25.

The figures were obtained from the South African Police Service 6 system as at February 12 2026, and include cases reported during previous financial years.

The five-year figures supplied by Cachalia show 50,890 murder cases were referred for prosecution, resulting in 16,648 convictions, 4,364 acquittals and 4,364 dismissals.

Over the same period, 114,451 rape cases were referred for prosecution, with 18,884 resulting in convictions, while 6,729 resulted in acquittals and the same number in dismissals.

The figures also highlight the pressure on the country’s courts, with tens of thousands of serious criminal cases still pending.

According to the parliamentary response, 49,465 murder cases, 26,735 attempted murder cases, 126,371 GBH cases, 99,577 common assault cases and 53,582 rape cases are pending in court.

Cachalia’s response noted the figures for acquittals and dismissals are treated similarly in the data because when charges against an accused are dismissed, it constitutes dismissal of the case.