The DA has condemned the police ministry for its failure to deliver body-worn cameras for the SAPS a year after a formal commitment was made.
Last year, now suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu announced that the SAPS would begin to deploy body cameras, with a rollout scheduled for the 2025/26 financial year.
His statement, in response to a parliamentary question, revealed a procurement target of 100 cameras annually at an estimated cost of R28,818 per camera, totalling R2.8m per year.
“SAPS is committed to enhancing transparency and accountability within its operations through the deployment of body-worn cameras,” Mchunu said at the time.
“This timeline follows a comprehensive period of testing solutions, ensuring the technology is fit for SAPS operations and addresses the specific needs of our officers in the field.”
Despite these assurances and a similar promise made by former minister Bheki Cele as far back as 2019, no camera has been procured by SAPS for national use.
DA MP Mzamo Billy, a member of the select committee on security and justice (SCSJ), has demanded an explanation from acting police minister Firoz Cachalia now that a year has passed since Mchunu’s announcement.
“The DA condemns the failure to implement police body-worn cameras as South Africa’s police accountability crisis deepens,” Billy said. “Without objective, real-time evidence, investigations are weakened, cases collapse, and prosecutions fail. This not only prevents justice where wrongdoing has occurred but also leaves honest police officers exposed to false allegations.”
Billy highlighted alarming statistics drawn from parliamentary replies over the past two years which reveal a massive gap between police conduct and consequence management.
Nearly 1,000 suspects were killed during police operations, while only 145 convictions resulted from SAPS-related investigations.
More than 3,800 cases were referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), many of which were either declined or are still pending.
Billy noted that while the crisis is national, it is particularly severe in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng.
The DA highlighted the importance of the technology, pointing out that the DA-led city of Cape Town was already executing the second phase of its own body-worn camera rollout for its metro police.
After an initial deployment of 1,250 cameras, a further 1,000 units are being rolled out under a new tender. “These devices strengthen oversight, improve transparency, and support safer communities across Cape Town. A similar rollout within SAPS would do much to improve public safety and trust,” Billy added.
The DA has secured an agreement from parliament’s SCSJ to convene a joint briefing where the SAPS, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate and the NPA will be required to account for the missed deadlines and the troubling data regarding police conduct.
“The DA will use this platform to demand clear timelines, accountability for the delays, and the urgent implementation of body-worn cameras.”
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