Acting police minister Prof Firoz Cachalia has called for a review of the parole system, saying known gang leaders should not be released back into communities where they continue to order killings.
Cachalia was speaking at Mfuleni police station in Cape Town on Tuesday after visiting Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain. He urged tighter border controls, warning that organised crime and drugs were fuelling violence. Cachalia said there were drug laboratories in the country, but the drugs were mainly brought in.
“I also believe we have to strengthen our borders. Democracies need borders. South Africa is a country in which the citizen is at the centre of the democratic project ... we [should] treat those who come into the country with respect and humanity. I am not in favour of xenophobia, but I do not believe it is right for people to come into our country unlawfully, and when they are here, they break the law.
“When they are here, they have to observe the law and respect our communities, and we will respect them. It is true that there are a lot of Nigerians involved in drug trafficking, and I don’t mind saying so. They should not be here drug trafficking. It’s not acceptable to us as South Africans. So border control is part of the challenge that we face.”
Turning to the issue of parole, Cachalia said gang bosses should not benefit from leniency.
“What are their rights? They have a right to a fair trial, yes. I can accept that, but they must also understand that when they harm the community, they no longer have the same rights as the law-abiding citizens,” he said.
Are we the ones still in charge? Are the criminals the ones who are taking control? We have a discussion with the government about organised crime. What we are seeing now is not what we experienced in the past.
— Prof Firoz Cachalia, acting police minister
“So we must be able to have that conversation. I do not see why parole, for instance, cannot be suspended if we know that this person is a gang leader. While he is authorising assassinations, can you release that man into the community again?”
He warned that organised crime was “taking the country to a crisis point”.
“They are bringing drugs into the country, they are attacking the constitution, and are infiltrating all our main institutions. That is a worry in our communities. Are we the ones still in charge? Are the criminals the ones who are taking control? We have a discussion with the government about organised crime. What we are seeing now is not what we experienced in the past. They were always harming the community in some way. This killing of people, the accumulation of wealth, this display of wealth through an activity which harms the society ... so no mercy for gangs.”
Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town celebrated the graduation of 700 new city police officers — its largest investment in more than a decade.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said they would be deployed in every ward, with a dedicated unit for the N2/Airport precinct and more escorts for service delivery teams in hotspots.
“As a city making major investments in policing resources, we are sending a clear message today to our partners in SAPS and national government: we are here to help make Cape Town safer. These new officers are set to make a big impact in every ward, along the N2, and in communities protecting our frontline staff,” he said.
“While city police already have the powers to search, arrest and prevent crime, the time has come for more policing powers — specifically to investigate crime and build dockets — so that we can ensure the 400 guns we take off the streets annually lead to actual convictions and removal of criminals from the streets of long-suffering communities. Right now, our broken criminal justice system secures convictions in just 5% of these cases, but we know this can dramatically improve once we get more policing powers for our officers.”
Hill-Lewis said he would meet Cachalia on Thursday to press the case for expanded powers.
MMC for safety and security JP Smith said the deployment had been in the pipeline for years.
“As far back as 2018, I have been working to find a way to deliver on this goal. Not just to respond to complaints and undertake pre-planned operations across an entire metro police district, but to have a permanent presence in each ward. The opportunity and funding just never aligned until now,” he said.
“This investment is a declaration, it is a clear message to the criminals who have held our communities hostage, your time is running out. A line is being drawn in the sand between lawlessness and order, between fear and safety, between silence and accountability. The city is stepping up once more, every day we will work to ensure decent and good people can again own their communities and feel safe at home and on the street.”
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