A Stark Admission: Police “Not in a Position” to Defeat Gangsterism, Says Acting Minister

In a rare and sobering admission from the highest level, acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia has stated that the South African Police Service is not yet in a position to defeat gangsterism in the Western and Eastern Cape. The frank assessment came during a visit to the crime-ravaged Nelson Mandela Bay metro, where communities are enduring what he described as a “killing spree.”

“They are on a killing spree in the Western Cape, with a similar pattern in the Eastern Cape,” Cachalia said on Wednesday, following a meeting with community leaders and policing forums. “I do not believe we are currently in a position to defeat this crime.”

A Metro in the Grip of Violence

The minister’s visit underscores a crisis that has simmered for months. The northern areas of Nelson Mandela BayGelvandale, Algoa Park, Helenvalehave become killing fields. Between August and December last year, 118 people were murdered, according to local group Spiritual Crime Prevention. The violence has spilled into 2026, with about 40 murders reported in just one week earlier this month.

The terror is so pervasive that the Algoa Park police station rolls its gates shut at night, forcing residents to use an intercom to seek help, a stark symbol of the state retreating in the face of gang power.

The Data Behind the Despair

Official figures lay bare the scale of youth entrapment in this cycle. In just one year, 1,868 young people aged 14-35 were charged with crimes in the northern areas. These included 444 drug-related charges, 142 counts of assault GBH, 73 for illegal firearm possession, 33 attempted murders, and 22 murders.

A Strategy Awaited, A Problem Acknowledged

Cachalia identified the reactive establishment of anti-gang units as an “ad hoc response” to a deeply entrenched problem. “I am waiting for the strategy that the police are working on to be presented to me,” he said, signaling that a coherent, long-term plan is still in development.

He highlighted the broader threat of organised crime “cartels” that wield “significant wealth and power,” complicating law enforcement efforts.

The minister’s candor is a double-edged sword. It validates the lived horror of communities who have long felt abandoned, but it also raises an alarming question: if the police themselves admit they cannot yet win this fight, what is the immediate hope for those living under daily siege? The admission is not an endpoint, but a painful public starting point for a crisis demanding more than just acknowledgmentsit demands a strategy that matches the severity of the war on the ground.