Alan Winde releases long-awaited report on SAPS gang infiltration

WESTERN Cape Premier Alan Winde has finally released the long-awaited Western Cape Police Ombudsman report on gang infiltration of the South African Police Service (SAPS). 

This comes after mounting pressure from the public and civil society, after Winde's initial refusal to make the three-year-old document public.

Winde initiated the investigation after Western Cape High Court judge, Daniel Thulare’s raised the alarm in a scathing 2022 ruling where he said: “evidence suggests that the senior management of the SAPS in the province has been penetrated to the extent that the 28 gang has access to the table where the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in the Western Cape sits with his senior managers and lead them in the study of crime”. 

After he received the findings from the ombudsman and despite calls from activists at the time to make it public, Winde refused to release the report citing risks to police and law enforcement officers. He also said he was advised against establishing a Commission of Inquiry into the issue. 

The excuse did not satisfy civic organizations who continued to call for accountability and transparency in light of the high rate of gang-related killings in the province. The Cape Crime Crisis Coalition (C4) last week gave the Premier a deadline to either release the report by Friday, November 7, or face legal action. 

Winde on Friday conceded he would release the report after names of relevant people had been redacted by their legal teams. 

The issue on Thursday featured at the top of the list in a debate on gangsterism and child killings  in a legislature sitting. 

In his executive summary Winde said: “Over the past three years, this government has continuously fought to have this matter properly investigated. The scope of the ombudman’s investigation was to advise me, within a 14-day period, on what course of action I was empowered to take, and whether it would be prudent to establish a commission of inquiry into the allegations contained in the judgment. The ombudsman’s final report was handed to me on 17 November 2022. In his recommendations, the ombudsman ultimately advised, 'that despite the serious nature of the allegations, the provisions of 217(6) of the Western Cape Community Safety Act, 2013 are not invoked to appoint a commission of inquiry'. This was due to the pending criminal trial and that a commission of inquiry would face legal challenges to access any records, evidence, or witness testimony.”

“The first two options entailed action being taken against the provincial commissioner of police, with his potential removal from the post. This was considered inappropriate as the allegations emanated under his predecessor, and Lieutenant-General Patekile, was working in good faith with the provincial government, attending regular briefing sessions. I thus resolved to comply with the ombudman’s third recommended option, which entailed awaiting the outcomes of ongoing parallel investigations led by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and the SAPS – bodies with the relevant authority to conduct full investigations into the allegations - before taking a decision on the way forward."

Cape Times