Public trust in the South African Police Service is at an all-time low, with just over a fifth of citizens having faith in the police since 2022
(File photo by Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
Western Cape gangs hook and reel in police officers with dubious values or who are cash strapped by baiting them with money and drugs, said a former member of one of the three prison numbers gangs known as 26s, 27s and 28s
“Before you catch a fish, you must have bait on the hook. Then you can catch a fish. It is the same [with the police],” said the former gangster, who still lives in an area in the Western Cape that is considered a red zone for gang activity and agreed to speak to the Mail & Guardian on condition of anonymity.
The bait he is talking about is case dockets.
“The [bad] cops come with the police docket and sell it to the gangs. Then the case is gone,” said the man, while conceding that there are “good cops” who cannot be bought.
He added that the price of a docket depends on how big the case is, but the minimum for one is R400.
In a separate conversation, a Cape Town anti-crime activist, Zona Morton, said some gangs pay police officers up to R4 000 to make a docket disappear.
The former gangster said that when a police official is on the payroll of a gang it includes daily perks such as buying the official food “like Gatsby’s and Kentucky” for lunch.
“Mostly it is the cops who come to the gangs,” he said, adding that corruption between the police and gangsters has increased “due to money and drugs”.
Money talks to bad cops
He said the police are not paid enough, and to get extra money “they risk their lives”.
Financial problems at home can result in borrowing money from a gang, and when a police member cannot pay it back, he or she must do the gang a favour. And that is where the trouble starts.
“Money speaks different kinds of languages,” he said, adding that corruption stretches through all the ranks, from new recruits to commanders and generals.
Recent evidence in a high court judgment has renewed focus on just how deeply the police service and other law enforcement structures have been infiltrated by criminal networks.
Western Cape cops implicated
The Western Cape high court judgment on 17 October details how police members on multiple occasions allegedly assisted the Mobsters, a gang believed to be part of the 28s.
Alfonso Shaun Cloete (Alfonso), the second appellant in the matter, is a former police official. He was dismissed when he was arrested on charges of intimidation relating to the taxi industry.
The first appellant, Elcardo Adams, is believed to be the leader of the Mobsters which operates in the Cape Town suburbs of Happy Valley, Kleinvlei, Kraaifontein and Dennemeer.
Both denied their involvement in the Mobster gang. They are charged jointly with 12 others on charges including premeditated murders, conspiracies to commit murders, attempted murders, possession of unlicenced firearms and unlawful possession of ammunition. They are believed to be behind the killing of Hamphire “Hempie” Brown, his son Corne Brown and a relative, Chevonne de Wet.
In his judgment, Judge Daniel Thulare dismissed Adams and Cloete’s bail appeal.
“The evidence suggests not only a capture of some lower ranking officers in the SAPS [South African Police Service]. The evidence suggests that the senior management of the SAPS in the province has been penetrated to the extent that the 28 gang has access to the table where the provincial commissioner of the SAPS in the Western Cape sits.
“This includes penetration of and access to the sanctity of the reports by specialised units like the Anti-Gang Unit and Crime Intelligence, to the provincial commissioner,” Thulare said.
In another case, three police officers at three police stations, two in the Western Cape and one in the Northern Cape, are alleged to have assisted gangsters in criminal activities.
It is alleged that one officer helped transport drugs in a police vehicle to a prison, while another allegedly organised the arrest of a person who was later killed by the Mobster gang.
Major General Mathapelo Peters, the national head of communications for the police service, could not confirm whether the implicated police members have been suspended, dismissed or continue to work.
“Our legal services have still not finalised their processing in terms of what direction to take,” said Peters, referring the M&G to their standard statement on 28 October in response to the judgment.
“The SAPS view the allegations made in the judgment as serious and concerning. The allegations will therefore be investigated by the relevant environments within the service,” reads the statement.
Another police commission on the cards
Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, the chief financial officer for the police service, told parliament during a ministerial briefing on 1 November that the judgment has been studied and an admission to the national commissioner is “on its way” to appoint a senior official to investigate the allegations “and take the process forward”.
During the briefing, the Democratic Alliance’s Jaco Londt said they will give the deputy police minister, Cassel Mathale, who was also at the meeting, the “benefit of the doubt” that he is aware of “this infiltration of SAPS and the alleged collusion and or corruption between your department and gangs”.
After the high court judgment, Premier Alan Winde instructed the province’s police ombud, Oswald Reddy, to investigate the alleged link between the police service and gangs.
Reddy has until 15 November to respond and make recommendations on whether a commission of inquiry should be established to investigate the allegations in the judgment.
Although the provincial and local government want to establish a commission of inquiry, they also say that their security clusters — the traffic, metro police, law enforcement and Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) officers — are clean of any corrupt dealings.
When asked whether any officers from the Western Cape security cluster face allegations of working with gangs, City of Cape Town’s spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said: “No officers within the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement or metro police have been suspended or dismissed due to allegations of assisting gangs in criminal activities or leaking sensitive information.”
Reagen Allen, the MEC for community oversight and safety in the Western Cape, said the provincial Leap officers were not assisting any gangs.
During the briefing last week, he said the Western Cape went “even further” and that more than “16 000 neighbourhood watches and community policing forums” were capacitated, trained, funded and accredited.
Don’t try to get out
Some laugh when local law enforcers are painted as innocent crime fighters and others recall events that link officials to gangs.
Zona Morton, an anti-crime activist in Cape Town, said there was an incident in the southern suburbs where a law enforcement officer received R5 000 in return to let a drug charge disappear.
She also pointed out a “flaw” in the vetting system of the neighbourhood watches; it is the neighbourhood watches that are accredited and not the members themselves. This allows anyone to join the community safety structures without being fully screened.
But what if you are a bad cop wanting to turn good again?
According to the former gang member, cops can pull out, but if the cop knows too much, the gang would not think twice to take him out.
“The people are heartless, they will kill you.”
[/membership]