Limpopo Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has raised concerns about persistent violent crime in the province, even though official figures show a decline in serious offences such as murder, rape and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Speaking to SABC News, Hadebe noted that while the downward trend is encouraging, the nature and frequency of violent incidents remain troubling and continue to affect community safety.

At a national level, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia echoed these concerns, stating that overall crime levels in South Africa are still unacceptably high.

He highlighted that the country recorded an average of 58 murders per day during the fourth quarter, from January to March, underlining the ongoing severity of violent crime despite improvements in certain categories.In a separate development, two police officers from Lenasia are under investigation for alleged extortion, intimidation and abuse of power.

The case involves two businessmen, Sifuan Nawaz and Aadil Ishfaq, who claim they were targeted after refusing to give a stake in their successful SIM card distribution business to another businessman, Mohammed Ayub.

The pair allege that false cases were opened against them with the involvement of the officers, and that Ishfaq was wrongfully detained for 257 days on immigration-related charges.Investigators have reportedly found evidence that immigration records were tampered with.

Meanwhile, the case against taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni and his co-accused, who face charges of extortion and money laundering, is set to return to court.

The matter had previously been struck from the roll after a prosecutor failed to appear, leading to a contempt of court ruling and a warrant for the prosecutor’s arrest.The National Prosecuting Authority has since applied to appeal that decision.