A Province Under Fire, A Police Boss Digging In

The calls are growing louder from community forums, activists, and crime researchers: Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile must step down. The province is drowning in bloodshed, with gang warfare turning neighbourhoods into battlegrounds and claiming children as collateral damage. Yet, in the face of this pressure, Patekile is not budging. Instead, he is promising to work “very hard” and unveil a “comprehensive policing strategy.”

His defiance comes at a moment of profound crisis. Just this week, a nine-year-old boy, Zechariah Matthee, was killed alongside two others in a Mitchells Plain home invasion. Hours later, two men were shot dead minutes apart near the Athlone Magistrate’s Court. These are not isolated incidents but points on a relentless timeline of violence that saw 2,308 murders in the Western Cape in just the first half of this financial year.

The Scandal at the Core: “In Bed with Gangsters”

Compounding the crisis is a searing loss of public trust. A recently released report, forced into the open by Premier Alan Winde, alleges police complicity with the notorious 28s gang. This revelation confirms the deepest fears of communities on the Cape Flats: that the very institution meant to protect them is sometimes part of the problem. Patekile’s response to this is a standard line about rooting out “bad apples,” a refrain that rings hollow to those living in the crossfire.

The Commissioner’s Defence: A List of Challenges and a Toll-Free Number

When pressed, Patekile outlines the monumental challenges: densely packed informal settlements, apartheid-era housing blocks that are gang breeding grounds, high unemployment, and the evolution of gangs into sophisticated “enterprises.” His stated strategy leans on evidence-based policing, technology, and collaboration.

A key tool he highlights is an anonymous extortion tip-line (0800 31 4444), which he credits for major arrests. He points to the arrests of gang “bigwigs” but admits this has created violent power vacuums within the gangs themselves. His plea is for communities to isolate criminals and work with police.

“Too Little, Too Late”: Experts and Activists Push Back

For many, this is not enough. Independent researcher Calvin Rafadi and the Cape Flats Safety Forum have explicitly called for his resignation. Anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee, while wary that a leadership change alone won’t solve the crisis, stresses the need for “urgent and immediate intervention” and a tangible, resourced strategy from national police leadership.

The sentiment on the ground, amplified on social media and in community meetings, is one of exhaustion and fury. The murder of a child like Zechariah becomes a symbol of a system failing at every level. People are tired of statistics, strategies, and toll-free numbers. They are counting body bags.

Patekile may believe he can still turn the tide. But as the bloodshed mountsin Mitchells Plain, Athlone, Manenberg, and Bo-Kaapthe patience of a terrorised province is running out. His comprehensive strategy is now on trial in the court of public opinion, and the verdict, based on the daily death toll, is looking increasingly grim. The question is no longer just about a police commissioner’s job, but about how many more must die before the promised “safety” arrives.