South Africa recorded 4,638 kidnapping cases between April and June 2026, with Gauteng accounting for more than half of all reported incidents nationally, according to the latest quarterly crime statistics.

The figures place kidnapping among the crime categories moving in the wrong direction, even as murders declined nationally during the same period.

Kidnappings increased by 3.9% year on year, with 172 more cases recorded than during the corresponding period in 2025.

Gauteng accounts for more than half of cases

Gauteng recorded 2,367 kidnappings during the three-month period, representing more than half of South Africa’s total.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the second-highest number with 887 cases, followed by the Western Cape with 269.

The Gauteng figures reinforce concerns about the scale of kidnapping in South Africa’s most populous province.

However, kidnapping statistics cover several different circumstances and should not be interpreted as meaning that every case involved a conventional ransom kidnapping.

Cases can include victims being unlawfully detained during hijackings and robberies, as well as incidents involving ransom, extortion, sexual offences or human trafficking.

Kidnappings rise while murders fall

The increase in kidnappings stands out against a decline in South Africa’s murder figures.

Police recorded 5,427 murders between April and June 2026, compared with 5,770 during the corresponding period last year, representing a decline of approximately 5.9%.

Gauteng recorded the largest number of murders at 1,276, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 1,179, the Western Cape with 1,071 and the Eastern Cape with 1,047.

When population size is considered, however, the Eastern Cape recorded the country’s highest murder rate at 15.8 per 100,000 people, followed by the Western Cape at 13.9.

The contrasting trends mean South Africa recorded fewer murders than during the same period last year while reported kidnappings continued to rise.

Gauteng remains kidnapping hotspot

The latest figures follow previous warnings about the scale of kidnapping in Gauteng.

Earlier provincial statistics showed thousands of kidnapping cases being recorded across Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane, with police indicating that a significant proportion were connected to hijackings.

“This distinction is important.”

Under South African law, kidnapping involves unlawfully depriving another person of their freedom. A victim who is held or transported against their will during another crime can therefore become part of the kidnapping statistics even where no ransom was demanded.

Nevertheless, the sheer number of cases highlights the continuing threat posed by violent and organised crime.

Concern over organised kidnapping syndicates

Kidnapping has increasingly become a major law-enforcement challenge in South Africa.

High-profile cases involving businesspeople, children and foreign nationals have heightened public concern, while organised criminal groups have increasingly been associated with ransom and extortion cases.

Police have responded through specialised anti-kidnapping investigations and multidisciplinary operations involving organised crime detectives and other law-enforcement units.

Several high-profile operations have resulted in victims being rescued and suspected kidnappers arrested.

But the latest quarterly figures show that the overall challenge remains substantial.

With 2,367 cases recorded in Gauteng in just three months, the province accounted for more than half of South Africa’s reported kidnappings during the period.

The next quarterly crime statistics will be closely watched to determine whether the increase continues or whether intensified policing operations begin reversing the trend.

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