In a significant reversal, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has finally promised to release a long-sealed report into alleged collusion between police and criminal gangs, a document his office has held for nearly three years. The pledge comes after intense pressure from civil society and amid confirmation that a parallel national investigation is underway.
The Premier, who had repeatedly refused to make the report public despite calls for transparency, now says his legal team is redacting the document and it could be made available as soon as next week.
A Report Born from a Judge’s Explosive Finding
The origins of the report are as serious as they come. It was commissioned after a 2022 Western Cape High Court judgment by Judge Daniel Thulare, who found shocking evidence of gang infiltration at the highest levels of the SAPS in the province.
The judgment stated that the notorious 28s gang had such deep access that it could penetrate the “sanctity of the reports” from units like the Anti-Gang Unit and Crime Intelligence, and even had “access to the table where the Provincial Commissioner… sits with his senior managers.”
In response, Winde tasked the Western Cape Police Ombudsman with investigating whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant a full commission of inquiry. That report was completed and handed to the Premier in 2022and then promptly locked away.
The Reason for Secrecy: A “Risk to Lives”
For years, Winde defended his decision to withhold the report, citing dire risks to the safety of police and law enforcement officers. He revealed that “a number of witnesses had been killed” and others’ lives would be in danger if the contents were made public.
This reasoning, however, did little to satisfy a public growing increasingly impatient and distrustful. The Cape Crime Crisis Coalition (C4) gave Winde a firm deadline to release the report, arguing that the public has a right to know the extent of the alleged corruption within the institution meant to protect them.
A Shift in Position and a National Probe
Facing this mounting pressure, Winde shifted his position in a recent SABC interview. He stated the report is not classified and that he has “no reason to not make it available.” He confirmed his legal team is now preparing a redacted version for public release.
Simultaneously, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) confirmed it has opened its own case based on the Ombudsman’s findings. IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping stated their investigation is “ongoing and the focus… is at establishing the extent of the infiltration.”
Experts Weigh In on the Delay
The prolonged secrecy has drawn criticism from experts. Former Western Cape Police Commissioner Dr. Lennit Max expressed surprise at the delay, noting that “transparency is key in situations like this.” He linked the allegations to a troubling drop in public trust in the police, which has fallen from 27% in 2021 to just 22% in 2024.
Meanwhile, former detective head Jeremy Vearey offered a more pragmatic view, noting that the report’s value is entirely dependent on its contents. “The report can be released,” he said, “but what difference and what value it’s going to add is determined by what is in it.”
After a three-year wait, the public may finally get some answers. The impending release of the report promises to shed light on one of the most disturbing allegations about South Africa’s criminal justice system: that the line between the police and the gangs they are meant to fight has become dangerously blurred.
{Source: IOL}
