D-Day for Winde to release police-gang links report

WHILE the DA has largely remained silent on Premier Alan Winde’s continued refusal to release the three-year-old Western Cape Police Ombudsman’s report into alleged links between police and gangs, the party on Thursday accused the SAPS top brass of "blatant disregard" for transparency over failure to release the quarterly crime statistics. 

It now intends to submit a  Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to force SAPS to disclose the crime statistics. 

“South Africans have a right to know the truth about the crime crisis that grips our nation and province. By withholding this data, SAPS is effectively hiding the true state of crime in our communities,” said Benedicta van Minnen, DA MPL and party spokesperson  on Police Oversight and Community Safety.  

By withholding the data, SAPS was effectively hiding the true state of crime in  communities, she said 

“It is clear the police service is in crisis. From mismanagement and corruption at the top to low morale and poor visibility on the ground. SAPS has become a broken institution unable to protect citizens or enforce the rule of law…The DA will continue to fight for a professional, transparent, and accountable police service that serves the people - not the political interests of the ANC.”

Van Minnen is also the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Police Oversight, Community Safety, Cultural Affairs and Sport in the provincial legislature. 

When asked to comment on Winde’s refusal to make the police ombudsman report public, she did not explain why the premier had not been called to account before the standing committee. Her office had acknowledged receiving the questions. 

The ombudsman investigation came about in 2022, after Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare indicated in his judgment that there was evidence suggesting senior SAPS management in the province had been infiltrated by the 28s gang. 

Winde then announced he had asked the Western Cape police ombudsman to investigate the matter and establish whether there was cause for a commission of inquiry. 

He received the report in November 2022 but subsequently refused to make it public despite mounting calls for transparency and suggestions to have it redacted. 

Calls for the report to be made public were recently reignited in light of unfolding evidence and revelations at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and the parallel Parliamentary hearings into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the criminal justice system.

Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais, also did not respond to questions around the police ombudsman report. 

Winde is facing mounting pressure from civil society, including the Cape Crime Crisis Coalition (C4), to release the report. 

The C4 coalition had given him until Friday to make the document public. It has not ruled out taking legal action as well as approaching parliament, saying “the public has a right to know if the institutions tasked with their protection have been compromised”.

Winde this week said that Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis was also informed about the report to protect law enforcement officers who were at risk, but did not give further details. 

Approached for comment, the City said: “As indicated by the Premier, he informed the City of general risks related to the Ombudsman’s findings, however, no City officials have been implicated in wrongdoing by the report. The report was commissioned by the Premier, as police oversight falls solely within the mandate of the Provincial Government. It would therefore be imprudent for the City to comment further on the matter.” 

Cape Times