Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi first announced the creation of a new cadre of crime busters, in his inaugural State of the Province address in February 2023, as part of his revamped anti-crime strategy. Since then he has moved fast. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Lesufi’s Gauteng crime prevention wardens accused of brutal assault 

It is less than a year since he took office in October 2022 and, according to Sizwe Pamla, the premier’s spokesperson, 6,000 people have already been recruited, trained and deployed in 361 township, informal settlement and hostel areas. Pamla calls this a “force multiplier” and an attempt to bolster the 142 police stations and 38,290 law enforcement officers in the province.  

In a detailed response to questions, Pamla told Daily Maverick that to fund this programme the Gauteng department of community safety (DCS), which oversees it, had its 2023/24 budget increased significantly to more than R2.7-billion, and the Crime Prevention Wardens (CPWs) themselves have been allocated nearly R1.5-billion. 

According to reports at the time this was a 97% increase in the DCS’s budget and contrasted with departments such as health and human settlements which had their budgets cut.

Pamla said: “This amount is being used for funding the new organogram structure, purchase of tools of trade, training, leasing of helicopters, buying drones, and training of drone operator pilots, e-panic buttons for all members of the community.”

On the face of it such an ambitious programme, in a province wracked by crime, would seem welcome. People we interviewed in Soweto, for example, all expressed hope that the CPWs would protect them from petty crime, but said they had seen no difference yet.

However, an investigation by Daily Maverick raises questions about: 

1. Whether premier Lesufi’s government has followed the law in the appointments, and
2. Whether there is sufficient oversight of the hastily trained CPWs to prevent abuse of power and brutality – a problem that is already rife in the South African Police Service and costs the taxpayer billions of rands in successful civil claims against the police.

Crime and policing experts have also voiced concerns that the CPWs are inexperienced and ill-equipped to deal with the complex laws they will be expected to enforce and could make certain situations worse with their interventions. 

Questions raised

According to Pamla, the CPWs “have been appointed as Peace Officers in line with Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Act (Act No 51 of 1977) upon completing the training programme”.

However, on 3 July 2023, in response to a parliamentary question from GOOD party leader Brett Herron, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola reported that while a “law enforcement function” could be “entrusted to other entities in terms of section 334 of the CPA… to assist the police”, and there is a provision allowing for the appointment of law enforcement officers as peace officers, a legal process must be followed. This includes a formal request to and approval from the minister of justice and consultation with the minister of police.

In Lamola’s words: “An enabling provision in law should guide the appointment of law enforcement officers as peace officers. This would be followed by a formal process of appointment requiring a formal request and approval of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, in consultation with the Minister of Police before permission can be granted and subsequently published in the Gazette. Only then will the appointees be regarded as peace officers.” (Our emphasis)

However, in July 2o23 the minister told Parliament that his department was “not aware of any formal request or application to declare CPWs as peace officers”.

Asked about this, Pamla told Maverick Citizen that “the Province is constantly engaging with the National Government” and that an application “for Gazetting of CPW under the Department of Community Safety has been submitted on 23 June 2023”. 

Last week, in response to questions from Daily Maverick, Lamola’s spokesperson Chrispin Phiri confirmed that a formal request had now been received from Gauteng. But he stressed that the appointment of CPWs had still not been published in the Government Gazette.

Phiri told us: “As the Minister had indicated in his response [to Herron], there is a requirement for consultation with the Minister of Police before permission can be granted and subsequently published in the Gazette. This process has not been concluded.” 

Questioned about the timeframe to conclude the process, Phiri said that “it’s imminent because the consultation with SAPS is work in progress”.

However, given that 6,000 CPWs are already deployed in communities as peace officers, the implication of this admission is that their employment has not followed proper legal process and is therefore unlawful.

This has been confirmed by a senior counsel at the Johannesburg Bar who explained how a Government Gazette defining the categories of person appointed as peace officers, the area they will operate in and the powers they will be assigned is “a condition precedent” to making any appointments: “The notice does everything and the power to appoint CPWs is with the Minister and the Minister alone.” 

The senior counsel also questioned whether the province’s budget allocation and expenditure on these appointments, without legal authorisation, violated the Public Finance Management Act. “This might interest the Auditor-General, as unauthorised expenditure.”  

Allegations of abuse of power 

To date there is no permission from the justice minister and thus no Government Gazette. Yet, according to Pamla the CPWs have already been assigned very broad powers. 

In his response to Daily Maverick (reproduced in full at the end of this article) he lists 17 such powers to “arrest without a warrant”, including of: 

• Any person “reasonably suspected of being a prohibited immigrant in the Republic in contravention of any law regulating entry into or residence in the Republic”;
• Any person “found at any place by night in circumstances which afford reasonable grounds for believing such a person has committed or is about to commit an offence”; and
• Any person who “wilfully obstructs him in the execution of his duties”.

Pamla also stated that the training of CPWs is “inclusive of specialised training in firearms” and that the R1.5-billion budget included the purchase of rifles and pistols to ensure that CPWs “are adequately equipped with crime-fighting tools”. 

Speaking to Daily Maverick, Sello Maremane, spokesperson for Gauteng Traffic Police and a training coordinator for the CPWs, also said that individuals declared as peace officers will have the same powers as a police official. 

“The power to arrest a person, the power to search a person if they suspect that the person may possess any object which may be reasonably used in the commission of a crime,” he said. 

“By virtue of them being appointed in terms of section 334 [of the CPA], that entitles them to effect an arrest on the go, they don’t need a police official in their midst or presence before they can effect an arrest”. 

Policing experts say that such broad and vague powers are at risk of abuse. This is a fear that already seems to be being borne out as allegations surface of instances of brutality and heavy handedness. 

In July, the Gauteng government denied reports that CPWs were involved in the beating and subsequent death of Robert “Kicks” Varrie, an alleged drug dealer in Katlehong, after it was reported by News24 that “a video clip showing the events leading to the interaction between [presenter Xolani] Khumalo’s crew (from the controversial TV show Sizokuthola) and the alleged drug dealer showed a vehicle belonging to the Crime Prevention Wardens (CPWs), with no police around”.

However, as we have reported today, this is not the only allegation. 

Another resident of Katlehong, who has asked that his name be withheld for fear of retribution, has explained in great detail – corroborated by witnesses – how he was nearly beaten to death by CPWs who twice invaded his home looking for drugs they never found. As a result of the beating he remains severely injured, awaiting operations and unable to work. His mother says she fears that he is suicidal.

Anecdotally, we have heard reports of abuse from other communities in the province.

Although the severe assault has been reported to the police and Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Pamla says the premier’s office is not aware of this, or any other allegations. 

“The Premier has not received any official complaints with regard to the conduct of the Crime Wardens.”

The CPWs do not fall under Ipid because, says Pamla, they are “appointed in terms of the Public Service Act and not the SAPS… Therefore, members of the public are encouraged to report any abuse of power by the Wardens to the Public Service Commission”.

In his response Pamla lays out a “reporting system” which appears to be overly bureaucratic and very hard for any complainants: “Complaints are investigated internally by the Risk Management Directorate [of the Department of Community Safety], tasked to investigate fraud and corruption against the Department’s Law Enforcement officials.” He adds: “Any abuse of power violation can also be reported at any of the departmental regional offices.”

Policing experts raise doubts and make recommendation 

In light of the fact that the minister of justice has stated that the police must first be consulted about appointing CPWs, Daily Maverick also sent questions to Brigadier Ayanda Mathe, the national spokesperson for the SAPS. However, Mathe referred our questions to the SAPS spokesperson in Gauteng, Brigadier Brenda Muridili, who in turn referred them to the Department of Community Safety.

“Any enquiry that has to do with Crime Prevention Wardens must be sent to the Department of Community Safety,” said Muridili.

Earlier today, Ofentse Morwane, spokesperson for the Gauteng department of community safety, in a written response, repeated all of Pamla’s explanation about complaints procedures and powers of the CPWs, adding: “Moreover, there is a call centre set-up managed by the Officer of the Premier.”

Said Morwane: “Gauteng residents are encouraged to work with the Crime Prevention Wardens in fighting crime and build trust between law enforcement officers by participating in community engagements and public safety awareness programmes.”

In the light of the government’s responses, Daily Maverick approached several organisations with expertise in policing for comment.

Dr Johan Burger, an independent crime and policing consultant, told us he is “concerned about the legality of CPWs currently performing law enforcement functions. They may currently be enforcing laws or performing functions for which they are not legally authorised. Their three months’ training is also hugely inadequate for the wide range of legal powers and the complex range of laws which they are or will be expected to enforce.”

Gareth Newham, head of the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute of Security Studies (ISS), said that while some aspects of the roles of CPWs laid out by Pamla “make sense… in some cases they make less sense.” 

Newham listed public order policing and working with schools to provide necessary support and response as interventions “requiring highly specialised capabilities, without which interventions can make bad situations worse”.

[The premier’s response is] an exercise of obfuscation because none of the legal or policy documents he refers to empower him to create a provincial police force, called Crime Prevention Wardens.

Asked about how to manage reports of abuse and legal recourse, Newham said: “Ideally, the crime wardens will have a clear code of conduct and ethics on which they are trained and sign up to. These should be made available to the communities… and specific officials tasked with handling complaints according to a clear procedure. 

“The names and contact details of those tasked with handling complaints in different locations must be made publicly available. Crime wardens also need to be aware of what will happen if a complaint is opened against them.

“Where the conduct of a crime warden might be a criminal offence (i.e. assault, corruption, damage to property, etc) then cases would need to be opened with the police. Ideally, the Department of Community Safety should provide communities with the contact details of police stations and police officials where cases can be opened.”

Newham also suggested that the Department of Community Safety “establish a monitoring system that receives and tracks any cases that are opened against crime wardens. This could assist to assess emerging problems and mitigate these through, for example, changes to the training and supervision of the crime wardens. Without this, bad behaviour from some crime wardens could turn community sentiment against them.”

Finally, in the light of our investigation, Daily Maverick approached GOOD party leader Herron, who had asked the initial question in Parliament. 

Herron’s response was categorial.

“The Gauteng CPWs do not fall into any category of peace officer that is declared in two previous Gazettes (one in 2002 and one in 2018) which had taken advantage of Section 334 to appoint peace officers.” 

He called the premier’s response to Daily Maverick “an exercise of obfuscation because none of the legal or policy documents he refers to empower him to create a provincial police force, called Crime Prevention Wardens, and none of them lead to where the CPWs are lawfully operating as peace officers, empowered to conduct policing functions fully armed.”

In the unambiguous words of another police and crime expert participating in a seminar organised by the Dullah Omar Institute “the scheme seems illegal”. DM