Only 5 Out of 147 Police Brutality Cases in Gauteng Resolved in Past 5 Years

Only five out of 147 cases of police brutality in Gauteng have been resolved in the past five years, according to Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko.

Mazibuko revealed the news in a written reply to the Democratic Alliance’s questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

Police brutality cases over past 5 years

According to Mazibuko, the following cases have been opened against Gauteng SAPS (South African Police Service) members in the last five years from the 2016/2017 financial year to the 2020/2021 financial year:

• 117 cases of common assault and assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm
• 16 deaths in police custody
• 10 death cases as a result of police actions
• 3 cases of rape
• One person raped in police custody in 2018
• In total, 147 cases have been opened against Gauteng SAPS members in the past five years.

All these cases have been reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and of these opened cases, only five have been resolved.

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety, Michael Shackleton said in a statement that it is worrying that “our people continue to suffer and die in the hands of the police yet there is a delay in ensuring justice for the victims and their families”.

He said this “clearly shows that some of the SAPS in this province are failing to abide by the SAPS Code of Conduct and that they are failing to respect the rights of our people while they are conducting their duties.”

The DA has called on MEC Mazibuko to engage both the Minister for Police, Bheki Cele and the Head of IPID, Jennifer Ntlatseng to ascertain why there have been delays in resolving these cases.