DA calls on SAPS to clean up its house and remove corrupt cops in key roles

The DA is calling on police managers to take decisive and immediate action to clean up the SAPS ranks by removing officers serving in the country’s most sensitive and high-risk positions and facing criminal cases.

This follows the arrest of a SAPS court orderly in Kleinvlei, a Cape Town suburb known for gang and drug activity. The officer was allegedly caught during a police operation on Saturday night with 965 Mandrax tablets, a “bankie” of tik and a toy firearm.

DA National Council of Provinces (NCOP) member on security and justice, Nicholas Gotsell, said the case was a glaring example of leadership failure and a broader culture of impunity within the police service.

“The DA calls for urgent review of SAPS staff in sensitive roles. A court officer with prior misconduct was caught with drugs in a gang area. Multiple officers are linked to drugs; some are quietly reassigned instead of being fired,” said Gotsell.

Gotsell revealed that the arrested officer was previously implicated in illicit activities while serving in the SAPS metro K9 unit.

Despite credible red flags, SAPS leadership reassigned him to the Cape Town magistrate’s court, where he had direct access to detainees.

“This is not the officer’s first reported link to smuggling. This gross lapse in judgment has further eroded trust in the justice system. In the midst of a relentless gang and drug war on the Cape Flats, such negligence allows criminal syndicates to exploit weaknesses across the police, the courts, and correctional services with impunity,” he said. 

The DA is demanding an urgent, independent audit of all SAPS personnel assigned to courts, correctional facilities and specialised units such as anti-gang task teams.

Gotsell said the Kleinvlei case is not isolated, listing several recent incidents involving officers in possession of narcotics or with alleged ties to gangs. 

Gotsell also made mention of a police officer in George who was arrested with drugs, as well as a Belhar officer who was found with cocaine.

He mentioned a Lentegeur officer was caught allegedly smuggling drugs in a marked police vehicle alongside a Fancy Boys gang leader. Though initially dismissed, the officer was later quietly transferred to Dieprivier SAPS after provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Thembisile Patekile overturned the dismissal.

“These patterns point to broader institutional rot. The DA has written to Lt-Gen Patekile demanding an explanation as to why officers with known misconduct records are allowed to remain in sensitive posts. The war on drugs demands ethical, credible policing.”

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