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City of Cape Town mayor and DA mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis has pledged to establish the metro’s own detective unit if he is re-elected.
The city could no longer wait for the SAPS to tackle violent crime, he said.
Hill-Lewis announced that the unit would itself investigate violent crimes, including gang-related murders and shootings, to help secure prosecutions.
The announcement on Wednesday is part of the DA’s campaign before the November 4 local government elections.
Hill-Lewis was speaking in Delft, which is one of Cape Town’s most crime-ridden communities, plagued by gang violence, drug turf wars and taxi-related conflict.
Police crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year recorded 52 rape cases at Delft police station alone.
Residents said they had become prisoners in their own homes as criminals continued to terrorise the community.
Fawaad Fisher, who lives in Voorbrug, said residents were forced indoors once the sun set. “These thugs are making our lives a misery. We no longer have the freedom to move around in our own area.”
Saadiyah Johannes said children could no longer play safely outside because of persistent gang violence. “We need police who can actually help us and not come up with excuses. We wait for hours for a police van to arrive, or we’re simply told there are no vehicles available. We are tired of gangsters controlling our area.”
Standing a few metres from the site where four people, including a 13-year-old boy, were shot dead in an apparent gang execution three months ago, Hill-Lewis said the killings remained unsolved.
“Three months have passed, and nothing has happened in the investigation. A 13-year-old boy and three grown men were executed in a granny flat just metres from where we are standing today. To this day, nobody has been arrested.
“What happened here was not inevitable. It was not bad luck. We must never accept that this is simply how life is on the Cape Flats.”
Hill-Lewis blamed the lack of progress on an overstretched SAPS detective service, saying nearly 200 detective posts are vacant across Cape Town police stations.
“We are launching our first and most important election pledge because communities like Delft deserve justice,” he said.
“For years, we have asked SAPS to allow the city to help investigate violent crime so that gangsters and murderers end up behind bars instead of walking free. Despite repeated promises, our requests have been ignored.
“We are done asking. We are going to build South Africa’s first metro police detective unit to investigate violent crime and firearm offences, strengthen prosecutions and ensure justice for communities living in fear every day.”
The announcement drew loud applause from residents attending the event.
Hill-Lewis said the city would no longer wait for the national government to act.
“For years, the city has formally and repeatedly asked for the authority to help SAPS close the policing gap. We have followed every proper process available to us.
“Now we must stop asking nicely and get on with it. If necessary, we will go to court to enforce the co-operation agreement between the city and SAPS because it was signed in good faith, and it is time the national government honoured its commitments.”
TimesLIVE
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