Statement by Nicholas Gotsell MP – DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice:
The fifth detainee escape in just over a month has now occurred – this time involving Richard Chakeintso, a 30-year-old undocumented immigrant who was on trial for assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm and contravening the Immigration Act. He escaped from police custody between the Robertson Magistrates’ Court and the correctional facility, reportedly in full view of court security guards, while only two SAPS officials were tasked with transporting the group of remand detainees.
This is no longer a policing failure; its a collapse. In the past few weeks alone, detainees have escaped from Wynberg, Strand, Bellville, Sea Point, and now Robertson. These are all established precincts with longstanding infrastructure and procedures, yet criminals continue to walk out of custody with ease. And throughout this breakdown, the Provincial Police Commissioner has chosen silence.
Serious allegations about Lt Gen. Thembisile Patekile’s conduct and leadership have now been publicly reported and it is abundantly clear that he has lost the confidence of both the public. If he cannot keep detainees in custody – the most basic obligation of a police service – he has no business leading SAPS in this province.
SAPS must immediately release an identikit of Chakanietsa, together with the CAS number, full case details, and the investigating officer’s contact information. The public cannot be expected to assist while SAPS withholds the most elementary information.
These repeated “escapes” which are in some cases clearly avoidable, and in others raising questions of inside collusion, show why the Western Cape Provincial Government should be empowered with its own investigative authority. If investigative policing powers were devolved, the Province could already have launched an independent inquiry into each of these failures instead of waiting for a silent provincial leadership.
In the absence of accountable SAPS leadership, the DA will refer this entire sequence of escapes – and the Commissioner’s refusal to respond to parliamentary correspondence – to the Western Cape Police Ombud for urgent investigation.
The people of the Western Cape deserve a police service that protects them, not one that quietly loses detainees week after week.