Ekurhuleni lockdown in numbers: Cameron highlights failures, Lesufi urges ‘focus on results’

The Gauteng provincial government has released figures to explain their Ekurhuleni crime lockdown after criticism from a senior parliamentarian. Ian Cameron, the chairperson of the police portfolio committee, inspected various police stations in the area over the course of Tuesday. The Kempton Park and Tembisa stations have been identified as hotspots for gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) cases, with numerous female victims being discovered in recent times.

President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a nationwide address on Tuesday regarding GBVF, following which Cameron highlighted certain shortcomings he observed at the Kempton Park and Tembisa police stations. The government responded by providing details of their lockdown efforts, with Premier Panyaza Lesufi accusing Cameron of grandstanding.

Cameron stated that despite having several years to improve the situation, there was no visible impact at the station level in both Kempton Park and Tembisa. Ramaphosa himself pledged a widespread change of attitude and approach to GBVF, expressing disappointment in the lack of progress made to protect women. Cameron echoed this sentiment, criticizing the police for their lack of basic actions and under-resourced specialized units.

He pointed out that while VIP protection for politicians had a budget exceeding R2.4 billion, specialized family violence and child protection policing received less than R1.7 billion annually. Cameron urged the president to provide more than just speeches and instead focus on providing resources such as detectives, vehicles, forensic capabilities, proper victim support, and functioning police stations.

The provincial government acknowledged the resource challenges faced by Ekurhuleni's police stations, including infrastructure, equipment, staffing shortages, and a lack of telephone lines. They stated that their purpose was not to score political points but to engage with national, provincial, and local stakeholders to find solutions.

Since the lockdown began on September 17th, police have searched over 30,000 individuals, vehicles, liquor outlets, and business premises. They have also patrolled 2,100 hotspots, visited schools and malls more than 1,000 times, and closed 13 spaza shops. This has involved deploying more than 4,000 law enforcement officers from 25 different units and entities.

In Ekurhuleni alone, 469 people have been arrested, with undocumented foreigners accounting for 286 of these arrests. The highest arrest categories were for drunken driving (39), drug possession (34), and selling liquor without a license (13). Only one murder arrest was made, along with four attempted murder arrests and 16 combined common assault and grievous assault arrests.

Police have also confiscated three firearms, three replica firearms, 623 liters of alcohol, and various quantities of multiple drugs. Lesufi concluded by emphasizing the need to focus on results rather than dwelling on challenges.