South Africa’s Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has disclosed that the Western Cape leads the nation in extortion cases, with 119 currently under investigation. This figure dwarfs those of other provinces.

Mchunu noted that, since 1 April 2023, a total of 312 extortion cases have been investigated across the country by the Organised Crime Investigations unit within the Detective and Forensic Services. Yet, this tally likely understates the true scale of the problem, as many victims refrain from reporting crimes for fear of retribution.

In the Western Cape, key hotspots have been identified by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), with Cape Town, the Cape Winelands, and Overberg districts marked as the most affected areas.

Much of this can be chalked up to the long-running and openly acknowledged national conspiracy between SAPS and the Cape gangs which has been in place since 2011, which has led to a runaway expansion of organised criminal behaviour and a growing homicide rate over the same period.

While the replacement of both Bheki Cele and former Cape crime intel boss Mzwandile Tiyo, and the increased cooperation between DA and ANC on crime in the Western Cape, the new policing relationship will have to be evaluated on these terms going forward, but the new arrangement is still only a few months old.

Despite significant efforts, including 69 arrests in the Western Cape alone during the same period, the judicial process has yet to secure any convictions. Mchunu acknowledged that all cases remain before the courts.

The minister highlighted the creation of specialised investigative capacities within both the Organised Crime and Serious and Violent Crime divisions, and affirmed that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been deploying specialised resources to areas where local forces are overwhelmed. These deployments involve investigation teams and policing units aimed at stabilising affected regions and bolstering ongoing investigations.

However, the police are often the main perpetrators of extortion, as in the recent case in Milnerton.

Seven members of South Africa’s Public Order Police Unit are now set to appear in court, accused of extorting Chinese shop owners in Milnerton, Cape Town. The officers were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Unit after allegedly extorting R28,000 from two shops in China Town. According to reports, the officers, in full uniform and using marked police vehicles, threatened the shop owners—some of whom were in the country illegally—with arrest unless they paid up.

Chinese citizens have received priority treatment from SAPS since 2013, when special branches of SAPS were set up and trained by the Chinese to give protection in Mandarin to Chinese immigrants. The rapid response from authorities in dealing with these police officers is unusual, and raises questions about whether they would have been caught if they hadn't targeted Chinese citizens.

The arrests have drawn condemnation from senior officials. Provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile expressed outrage at the officers' involvement in extortion, stating that there is no place in the South African Police Service (SAPS) for such individuals. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s spokesperson, Kamo Mogotsi, added that the officers will face internal disciplinary proceedings alongside criminal charges, emphasising the betrayal of public trust.

The scandal is the latest in a string of SAPS corruption cases, following the arrest of four Cape Town officers accused of staging a R20 million jewellery heist. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) lamented the growing number of officers implicated in crime, warning that such incidents erode public confidence in the police.

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