The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the judgment handed down by the Western Cape High Court on 11 September 2025, which declared the SAPS raid on the offices of Aldermen JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.
This ruling is a clear victory for accountability and the rule of law, and a damning indictment of how policing resources were weaponised in a smear campaign against those exposing organised crime.
The Court order makes it clear that:
- The warrants used to raid the offices of Smith and Limberg on 24 January 2025 were unlawful and inconsistent with the Constitution.
- All articles seized must be returned within 7 days.
- SAPS must immediately delete and destroy all data, mirror images or information unlawfully copied from seized devices.
- Any copies already shared with third parties must be recalled and destroyed.
- The Minister of Police has been ordered to pay all legal costs, including the costs of two counsel.
For years, Smith and Limberg, together with the City’s investigative capacity, have targeted organised crime networks and blocked syndicates from looting public funds. It is telling that once these efforts began to impact gang bosses and corrupt tenderpreneurs, SAPS resources were diverted to attack the very people doing the work SAPS itself has failed to do.
This disgraceful abuse of the Commercial Crimes Unit has once again highlighted the urgent need to restore integrity, independence and professionalism to SAPS. The DA will continue the fight for the devolution of policing powers so that capable provinces and metros can protect their residents when national SAPS cannot.
We are clear: political theatre and smear campaigns will not deter us. The DA will continue to demand policing that serves communities, not criminal syndicates or political agendas.
The judgment is a victory not only for JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg, but for every South African who expects SAPS to fight crime, not enable it.