Mortuary stats show violent deaths rise in Gauteng 

9 March 2017

Statistics from Gauteng’s 10 state mortuaries show a continuing rise in violent deaths.

I obtained these figures from a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to the Gauteng Health Department.

Violent deaths from gunshots, stab wounds and assault rose from 3846 in 2014/15 to 4138 in 2015/16.

These deaths accounted for 32% of the causes of unnatural death for bodies in Gauteng mortuaries last year.

The breakdown is as follows:

Shot – 1854 deaths, up from 1608 deaths the previous year

Stabbed – 1338 deaths, up from 1257 deaths

Assaults – 946 deaths, down from 981 deaths

Traffic accidents accounted for 27% of the deaths in 2014/15, increasing to 3444 deaths from 3088 the previous year.

Hanging is another high cause of deaths – 874 deaths which accounted for 7% of all deaths in that year.

Some other causes of death in 2015/16 (i.e. from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016):

Burns - 702

Stillborn - 596

Poisoning - 679

Drowning - 249

Train accidents - 199

Electric shock - 144

Strangulation - 75

Suffocation - 32

Lightning - 17

These figures are the most reliable indicator that violent deaths are increasing in Gauteng as dead bodies don’t lie.

It is very disturbing as it shows that policing and road safety campaigns are failing to curb the high number of violent deaths in Gauteng.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 9 March 2017