Parliament’s ad hoc committee probing allegations of criminality in the criminal justice system has heard harrowing accounts of alleged victimisation of police officers who reported criminal activity within the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The committee, which is investigating allegations of corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system, received submissions on Wednesday from three active SAPS members.
Among them was Capt Sekodi Ramalepe, who detailed a persistent pattern of corruption, maladministration and gross irregularities within the forensic science division.
The price we are paying for reporting crime committed by police officers is victimisation. We have suffered, and continue to suffer, unimaginable pain because of ill-treatment by SAPS managers who view us as a threat to their illegal activities.
— Captain Sekodi Ramalepe
Ramalepe testified that he and his colleagues have spent years reporting glaring acts of criminality, including drug theft, irregular appointments and procurement fraud. However, he claimed their efforts were systematically ignored or suppressed by senior leadership.
“As a result, we have suffered occupational detriment, as well as physical and psychological harm,” Ramalepe told the committee.
“The price we are paying for reporting crime committed by police officers is victimisation. We have suffered, and continue to suffer, unimaginable pain because of ill-treatment by SAPS managers who view us as a threat to their illegal activities.”
Other issues reported were:
- Theft of rhino horn
- Sexual harassment
- Irregular appointments
- Irregular payment of scarce skills allowance and maladministration
- Victimisation
The whistleblowers detailed a timeline of failed interventions spanning a decade.
In 2010, the officers were allegedly arrested at the divisional commissioner’s office simply for raising concerns regarding the theft of drugs from a forensic laboratory.
In 2012, the group met with the then-divisional commissioner of forensic science services Lt-Gen Khomotso Phahlane. Ramalepe alleged that instead of taking action, Phahlane remarked that he could not “open a can of worms”.
The matter was escalated to then acting national commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, and later to former national commissioner Riah Phiyega following pressure from the police union Popcru.
Ramalepe noted that while Phiyega eventually commissioned an independent investigation, she failed to follow through on promises to protect the officers from retaliatory lawsuits filed by Phahlane before her own suspension from the force.
The officers expressed deep disillusionment with both internal and external oversight bodies. Despite approaching the office of the public protector and their own labour unions, they claim to have received no meaningful assistance.
The pattern of reporting and subsequent silence has reportedly continued to the present day. In 2025, the officers approached current national commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola, who established a team to investigate their long-standing complaints.
“We were advised that the investigation was completed on October 31 2025,” Ramalepe stated. “However, all our attempts to obtain a copy of that report from Gen Masemola have been in vain.”
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