South African Police Acknowledge Struggles Against Gang Violence

Tue Feb 03 2026 20:53:36 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Amid rising gang-related crimes, South Africa's Police Minister admits that the forces currently lack the means to effectively combat organized criminal activities, revealing the gravity of the law enforcement crisis.

South Africa's Police Minister, Firoz Cachalia, has publicly acknowledged that the country's police forces are struggling to combat the widespread issue of gang violence. With South Africa experiencing one of the highest homicide rates globally, the minister noted that existing strategies are inadequate, especially in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces. The complexities of organized crime in these areas call for new approaches beyond traditional policing, as the police face a growing challenge with illegal firearms circulating widely.

South Africa's Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has said that the security forces are not yet able to defeat deadly criminal gangs, in a stark admission that underscores the scale of the country's crime crisis.

Gang violence, alongside robberies, accounts for many murders in South Africa, which has one of the world's highest homicide rates.

Cachalia said gang violence had become increasingly complex, especially in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces, requiring new strategies beyond traditional policing.

I do not believe that we are currently in a position to defeat these gangs, the minister told journalists on Wednesday.

South Africa, the continent's most industrialised nation, has long struggled with entrenched organised crime.

Many people in South Africa own licensed firearms for personal protection, but there are many more illegal guns in circulation.

Police data shows that an average of 63 people were killed each day between April and September last year.

Speaking after his visit to crime-infested Nelson Mandela Bay in Eastern Cape, Cachalia said criminal gangs were on a killing spree in the two provinces.

Despite the creation of an anti-gang unit in 2019, Cachalia said gangsters seemed to be winning the war.

Establishing gang units from time to time is an ad hoc response to a growing problem. I really don't think that we should be approaching this matter in a point-scoring way, he added.

His visit comes months after Nelson Mandela Bay was hit by a wave of killings, with around 40 people killed across the region in January alone.

The violence, exacerbated by the presence of both licensed and unlicensed firearms, presents a critical challenge to law enforcement, as President Cyril Ramaphosa promises stronger measures to address the crisis.