GOOD Statement by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Parliament:
Today, South Africa will have a new Minister of Police. GOOD welcomes the appointment of Professor Firoz Cachalia to this critical portfolio at a time when public trust in the police is dangerously low, and the entire criminal justice system is under unprecedented scrutiny.
The appointment follows explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, implicating senior figures in our police service, intelligence structures, prosecuting authority, and political leadership. These allegations must be taken seriously, and due process must follow but they cannot be allowed to consume the entire focus of the new minister.
Because while the political fallout unfolds, people are still dying.
In Cape Town alone, at least 24 people were killed in mass shootings in July, gunned down in their homes, at tuck shops, on street corners. These are not isolated incidents; they are the daily reality of communities terrorised by gang violence and failed by a government unable, or unwilling, to act.
The Western Cape remains the epicentre of gang-related violence in South Africa. According to the most recent SAPS data, the City of Cape Town accounted for 81% of the province’s 1,068 murders in just three months. Nearly 500 of those were recorded at just 10 police stations.
Gangs thrive in communities where the state has withdrawn, where schools are crumbling, youth programmes have vanished, and housing is far from opportunity. The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government continue to pour billions into a reactive, militarised “Safety Plan,” while doing little to fix the root causes of violence.
GOOD calls on Minister Cachalia to bring urgency, focus, and fairness to the fight against crime, not just in press conferences, but in precincts and policy.
We urge him to:
- Prioritise targeted, intelligence-led policing in known gang hotspots.
- Support violence prevention strategies – community conflict mediation, school interventions, social work programmes – that have proven effective elsewhere.
- Hold provinces and municipalities accountable for how they use their own policing resources, and stop the blame-shifting that leaves residents unprotected.
- Champion integrated safety planning, ensuring SAPS, metro police, and social development work together, not in silos.
And above all, we call on him not to get lost in the politics of policing. South Africans don’t need another power struggle, they need safety, justice, and a government that works together to deliver both.
Let this appointment be a turning point, not just in who leads the police, but in how we respond to the violence that has plagued our poorest communities for far too long.
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Jislaaik – an expression of surprise [yis-liike] This is usually said when trying to express surprise or wonder.Example: “Jislaaik, you gave me a fright!”