Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbite by Ian Cameron MP.
– DA repeatedly raised taxi industry links.
– SAPS leadership cannot claim ignorance.
– National investigation now required.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) rejects statements made by Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile in a recent News24 interview regarding SAPS members allegedly linked to the taxi industry.
Any suggestion that these allegations only came to SAPS’ attention after they were publicly reported is inaccurate. This matter has been repeatedly raised with SAPS leadership, the Minister of Police and through parliamentary oversight processes over an extended period.
This matter has been known to SAPS for more than two years. Earlier this year, I formally wrote to National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, raising these concerns and calling for decisive intervention. Despite several follow-ups, there was little evidence of meaningful action being taken.
I subsequently escalated the matter to Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Dimpane, and only thereafter did we begin to see progress. The issue was also repeatedly raised in Parliament and brought to the attention of the Minister of Police. It was neither concealed nor newly discovered.
The reality is that whistleblowers approached me because they had lost confidence in internal reporting channels. They came forward with allegations that SAPS members who held interests in the taxi industry remained in positions where they were expected to police matters directly affecting that sector, including taxi violence, extortion and organised crime.
We now know that more than 20 members are facing criminal charges and that at least 10 members have resigned. Furthermore, last week an additional four SAPS members were reported to us, and those allegations are currently being pursued. These developments do not point to proactive action by SAPS. Instead, they demonstrate that persistent whistleblower disclosures, parliamentary oversight and public scrutiny compelled action that should have been taken much earlier.
This is not an attack on honest police officers. It is a defence of them. The vast majority of SAPS members serve with integrity and deserve a police service free from corruption, conflicts of interest and undue influence.
The Minister of Police and SAPS leadership must now provide clear answers to several critical questions: When did SAPS first become aware of these allegations? Why was no meaningful action taken after the matter was formally raised? Who failed to act? How many SAPS members across South Africa have interests in the taxi industry? And how many of those members are deployed in units responsible for policing taxi violence, organised crime, extortion and public order?
The DA will continue to pursue this matter and hold those responsible accountable. Our oversight work will not end in the Western Cape. Similar inquiries will be undertaken in other provinces to determine whether these concerns extend beyond a single region.
I also encourage honest police officers and whistleblowers who are aware of similar conflicts of interest or wrongdoing to come forward, including anonymously where necessary. Information can only be acted upon when it is brought into the open, and those who speak out play a vital role in protecting the integrity of the police service.
This matter cannot stop in the Western Cape. It must now be investigated on a national scale.
South Africans deserve a police service that enforces the law impartially, not one where some members are alleged to profit from the very industries they are tasked with policing.