Police Committee in Parliament requests deadline extension for Cape Town gang violence inquiry
Parliament’s Police Committee wants more time to complete its inquiry into Cape Town gang violence.
Image: Armand Hough
Gang-related violent crime in Cape Town and other provinces is deeply entrenched, necessitating a focused inquiry, according to the Portfolio Committee on Police.
The committee has resolved to ask the National Assembly to extend the deadline for tabling its report on the inquiry into gang-related violent crime in Cape Town, saying the scope and complexity of the work requires additional time to ensure meaningful outcomes.
This comes after the committee held a preliminary session to consider the inquiry’s terms of reference and received an initial briefing from SAPS.
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, said violent gang-related crime has become a serious and entrenched challenge affecting communities across Cape Town, with similar patterns also seen in other provinces.
“Violent gang-related crime has become an entrenched challenge in the City of Cape Town. Communities continue to face rising incidents of murder, drug-related offences and associated violent crime.
''This demands a focused and impactful inquiry, which requires adequate time,” Cameron said.
The National Assembly mandated the committee on 25 November 2025 to conduct the inquiry under parliamentary rules, with an initial reporting deadline of 30 June 2026.
However, the committee now believes more time is needed due to the widespread nature of gang activity across the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Cameron said the work of the committee had also been delayed due to members participating in the Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, which affected the start of the inquiry.
“It is therefore necessary to request an extension to ensure that the inquiry delivers impactful outcomes and actionable recommendations,” he said.
During its engagement with SAPS, the committee raised concerns about the poor resourcing of anti-gang units, including shortages of personnel and operational tools needed to combat gang violence effectively.
While acknowledging the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as a support measure, the committee said it had yet to see significant results on the ground.
“Although the SANDF intervention was intended as a short-term measure, we have yet to see meaningful results. The true measure of value for money must be a visible reduction in gang-related crime,” Cameron said.
The committee also raised concerns about weaknesses in the so-called “whole-of-government” approach, saying there is no clear accountability framework to coordinate efforts across departments dealing with the socio-economic causes of gang activity.
Cameron warned against an overreliance on traditional policing methods, saying there must be a stronger focus on intelligence-led operations aimed at disrupting gang networks.
The committee further stressed the importance of multi-agency cooperation, including the role of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in tracking and confiscating illicit financial flows linked to gangs.
“Without coordinated efforts to cut off financial resources, gangs will continue to thrive,” Cameron said.
It also raised concern that too much focus is placed on arrests rather than securing convictions, particularly against high-level gang leaders.
The committee reaffirmed that the inquiry will prioritise practical outcomes and measurable impact, saying communities affected by gang violence deserve safer environments and stronger law enforcement results.