South Africa's Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has stated that the security forces are not yet able to defeat deadly criminal gangs, underscoring the scale of the country's crime crisis. Gang violence, coupled with robberies, is a significant contributor to South Africa's alarmingly high homicide rates.
Cachalia pointed out that gang violence has become increasingly complex, especially in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces, necessitating new strategies beyond traditional policing methods. I do not believe that we are currently in a position to defeat these gangs, he told journalists this week.
Long plagued by entrenched organized crime, South Africa grapples with a situation where many citizens arm themselves with licensed firearms for protection, yet a significant number of illegal firearms circulate widely. Reports indicate that an average of 63 people were killed daily in the country between April and September of the previous year.
After a visit to the crime-afflicted Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape, Cachalia expressed concern over the ongoing "killing spree" by criminal gangs in these provinces, highlighting issues related to extortion rackets and related crimes. Despite efforts to establish an anti-gang unit in 2019, he lamented that gangsters seem to be prevailing in this ongoing struggle.
In recent months, Nelson Mandela Bay has experienced a surge in violence, with reports indicating that 118 people were killed between August and December last year alone. The violence continues into the new year, with local media reporting around 40 additional fatalities in January.
Statistics show that there are about three million legally held firearms in South Africa. However, there may be just as many unlicensed weapons circulating among a population of 63 million, making policing efforts even more challenging. President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to enhance law enforcement action and increase police deployment to combat the rampant gang violence across the nation.
