In a worrying, but unsurprising act of negligence, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has not provided court-mandated updates on investigations into police corruption despite committing to do so over a year ago.

The Western Cape government issued its official condemnations of the watchdog’s failures on Tuesday, when Premier Alan Winde emphasized the urgency of addressing gangsterism and expresses worry about IPID's lack of urgency.

The delay follows damning findings by Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare in August of 2022, regarding gang influence within the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Thulare's findings suggest that the 28 gang has infiltrated senior management of SAPS in the Western Cape, influencing crime strategies and compromising the independence of judicial officers.

This should have been well-known, and much more investigated, following the bombshell report by veteran investigative journalist Sam Sole in 2015, in which he uncovered an official pact made in 2011 between the ANC and the Cape gangs, ostensibly to secure votes in Cape communities (arguably through some form of coercion), though in effect, this has had the main effect of destabilising the Cape and leading to a massive increase in homicides, as we reported earlier this week.

Judge Daniel Thulare's judgment confirms the natural corollary of this old story, by asserting that gang infiltration into the South African Police Service (SAPS) goes right up to senior management levels.

The 28 gang allegedly has access to SAPS leadership, influencing crime strategies and compromising safety measures. Gang interference extends to specialized units, public prosecutors, and the judicial system, posing a threat to lives and decorum.

The judgment exposes a "capture" of SAPS by criminals, akin to the concept of "State Capture" in state-run entities like Eskom and Transnet.

Western Cape civil society has long taken an issue with the corrupt and incompetent governance of our police by Bheki Cele, a kindergarten teacher from a mediocre bush college parachuted into the top security position, who has demonstrated repeated contempt for the public.

Paarl’s Action Society, chaired by Ian Cameron, has been at the forefront of taking SAPS to task, and cooperating with good apples where they can be found, leveraging his skills and contacts from his time as 12-year head of the AfriForum neighbourhood watch program.

He reached national fame after his accusations of willful neglect on the part of Cele were responded to with vulgar abuse and physical coercion, bringing complaints of ethical misconduct against the police chief, whose loyalty to the ruling party has places him above public scrutiny.

IPID has equally developed a reputation for encouraging a culture of impunity in the South African police, where its reluctance to hold SAPS officers to account has become the subject of extensive research.