Bring back the death penalty, says South Africa medical chief Dr Mabasa said that despite a 6.5 per cent drop in the country's murder rate, there was nothing to celebrate. Why are we rejoicing when there are a thousand fewer people murdered? Surely we don't think the decrease is because criminals are lazy?" he asked. We cannot allow this killing with impunity to continue. Kill and you will be killed. This is the message that needs to be sent out. Last year, 15,900 people were murdered in South Africa - or 320 per million people. The UK's murder rate is 13 deaths per million people - totalling 619 last year. South Africa's death penalty was abolished in 1995 - a year after Nelson Mandela came to power. At the height of apartheid, South Africa had the third highest judicial execution rate in the world - putting to death 1,109 people between 1980 and July 1989. At the time of transition to democracy, there were more than four hundred prisoners on death row - many for political crimes.