The recent seizure of R20 million worth of cocaine in Midrand is a clear example of what competent policing can achieve. Crime Intelligence, the Gauteng Organised Crime Unit, SAPS K9, and LCRC members worked together to arrest a suspect and intercept 80kg of cocaine destined for Cape Town.
This is the standard South Africans deserve, and the DA wants to see it across the Police Service, from the top to the bottom.
Yet, failures at senior levels continue to undermine public trust. Recent weeks, including evidence before the Madlanga Commission, have shown how forensic and ballistic evidence can be manipulated in an environment of weak oversight.
SAPS’s own Strategic Plan (2025–2030) promises professionalisation, ethical leadership, and the eradication of corruption. Without independent checks on senior officers’ integrity, qualifications, and skills, these promises are meaningless.
The DA therefore reiterates our calls for urgent action:
- Independent lifestyle audits for the top 100 SAPS generals and senior managers, to uncover unexplained wealth, procurement kickbacks, or criminal associations.
- Competency and skills audits to ensure divisional heads and provincial commissioners have the expertise and leadership ability to perform their duties, particularly in Detectives, Forensics, and Crime Intelligence.
- Mandatory integrity testing, including polygraphs and financial disclosure verification, conducted by an external body reporting directly to Parliament.
Public trust cannot be rebuilt while the same leaders who oversaw forensic failures, procurement scandals, and intelligence decay remain in charge. Cleaning up the the lower ranks alone will not work if the top remains untouched.
The Midrand cocaine bust shows what is possible when police act with skill, commitment, and accountability. South Africans deserve this standard everywhere, and it must start with leadership.