<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Almost three people were murdered every hour in South Africa during the first three months of the year, according to police statistics released on Tuesday.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Some 6,289 people were killed in the country -- which has one of the world's highest murder rates -- between January and March, up 3.4 percent on the same period last year.</div><div><br></div><div>Yet, Police Minister Bheki Cele, who has long been under fire over the rampant crime, said the overall picture was improving.</div><div><br></div><div>"We are gradually gaining back the ground from criminals," Cele told a press conference.</div><div><br></div><div>Child murders were down 20 percent, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Rapes also saw a slight 2.8 percent decline, with a still staggering 10,500 cases reported in the first quarter of 2022.</div><div><br></div><div>Cash-in-transit robberies instead experienced a "stubborn increase" of more than 20 percent, with 64 cases reported, Cele said.</div><div><br></div><div>Common robberies, assaults and attempted murders were also on the up.</div><div><br></div><div>The leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), reiterated calls for Cele to be fired.</div><div><br></div><div>Crime is "spiralling out of control," the party said in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>The new figures "paint a bloody picture of violence tearing away at our social fabric while our citizens cower in fear in their own homes." - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>