Police Minister Senzo Mchunu declares war against ‘armies of murderous parasites’

The Efata School for the Deaf and Blind in Mthatha. An Eastern Cape ophthalmologist called Anele Yako. Doctors at Life Mercantile Hospital in Gqeberha. The Beerhouse pub in central Cape Town. A 64-year-old Kraaifontein grandmother who sold food on the side of the road. 

These places and people have one thing in common: all have been targeted by violent gangs demanding protection fees in the last few weeks.

The Beerhouse pub in Long Street announced earlier this month that it was closing its doors permanently because it simply could no longer deal with the extortion fees which most businesses in Cape Town’s centre are now forced to pay.

Doctors at the Gqeberha hospital have received threatening phone calls saying they will be killed if they do not stump up for “protection”. 

This threat may not be idle: in the case of the Kraaifontein vendor, she was shot dead allegedly because she could not afford the extortion payments for July and August.

These were just some of the incidents cited in Parliament on Tuesday, 3 September 2024, when the National Assembly held an urgent debate on the wave of extortion-related crime gripping the country. 

Police Minister pledges action – sort of

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu told MPs: “Extortion has been emerging over time and has now reached levels where all communities in our country… have become very angry, bitter and agitated; the pain has gone very deep.”

Mchunu continued: “The modus operandi of the perpetrators involved in these heinous acts is well known. Most of them are individuals who do not want to work but rather choose to parade as armies of murderous parasites that must be fought and rejected by society as a whole. They are often heavily armed, operating in groups that instil fear and chaos. The relative silence of communities and low reporting is all due to these fears.”

The police minister said it was particularly shocking that there are increasing reports of church services, funerals and pensioners being targeted.

His short address was, however, low on detail as to how the “murderous parasites” would be brought to book. 

Mchunu said “crime intelligence operations” needed to be stepped up; that operational partnership agreements were being signed between provincial, local and national government, and that private security companies and community protection forums would be brought on board.

Read more: Police and business turn the screws on extortion mafia terrorising all corners of SA

MPs from across the political spectrum were unanimous that urgent action needs to be taken. 

Freedom Front Plus MP Heloise Denner pointed out that the estimated cost of the extortion wave to the economy is R68-billion so far this year, almost double last year’s estimated bill, and this form of crime is increasingly spreading from urban to rural areas.

Wayne Thring, from the ACDP, noted that the National Prosecuting Authority seems to have a problem successfully prosecuting these crimes. Over the past year, 722 extortionists were arrested – but only 52 were convicted.

Are police collaborating?

Multiple lawmakers pointed fingers at SAPS itself; not just in terms of incapacity, but with members potentially actively colluding with extortionists.

Bosa’s Mmusi Maimane told the National Assembly: “When people call the police, sometimes they don’t show up, and sometimes they are demanding bribes themselves.”

There was greater bluntness from EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi: “The reason the police are claiming ignorance is because the police are embedded.”

Ndlozi suggested that tracking devices be used to keep an eye on cops, and monitor “who they are talking to”.

Read more: Minister Mchunu’s grim SA crime stats after WC police shootout call for urgent action on extortion, murder, kidnapping rates

Wrapping up, Mchunu rejected the idea that there was widespread corruption within the police service, saying it was a highly limited phenomenon.

Action SA’s Dereleen James, meanwhile, hinted at a different form of collusion: “We cannot ignore the glaring possibility that some of these syndicates are politically connected, as some reports indicate”.

Several MPs agreed that a boosted crime intelligence would be key to policing the issue. The most detailed suggestions for how to combat extortion were provided by the DA’s Ian Cameron, who spoke in favour of specialised police units focusing on the crime.

“Strengthening community policing, improving witness protection programmes, and fostering collaboration between law enforcement, businesses, and communities are all essential steps towards responding to this existential threat,” Cameron said.

The MP also suggested that South Africa look to Japan – which has long been in the grip of a similar problem from its notorious Yakuza gangsters – and Italy, the original home of the Mafia, for novel ideas on how to combat the scourge. In Italy, Cameron noted, some businesses publicly advertise their refusal to pay Mafia fees. 

Hot takes from MK and ATM

Although there was a rare level of consensus in the National Assembly as a result of the severity of the problem, some alternative perspectives still managed to be aired.

uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) MP David Skosana shoe-horned in a dollop of historical revisionism, telling the House: “Compared to the glorious years of his excellency president Zuma, the current surge of extortion incidents coincides with a significant rise in unemployment… It is ironic how the years of president Zuma were dubbed the wasted years, which is quite absurd and is madness.”

One of MK’s bedfellows in the so-called “Progressive Caucus”, the African Transformation Movement (ATM), also had an unusual take.

ATM leader Vuyo Zungula suggested the nation look to KwaZulu-Natal for an example of exemplary police work, because “people all over the country appreciate the work being done by the police in KZN”.

Police in that province have killed a surprisingly high number of suspects in recent months, saying they were merely responding to being fired upon.

Zungula suggested further: “The foreign-funded NGOs and the experts who have made themselves the mouthpiece of criminals at the expense of South Africans must please volunteer their skills and be in the frontline of police operations.”

In general, however, there were few points of disagreement – yet not many would have left the session feeling completely reassured that the police have the problem under control. DM