South Africa’s gang wars leave country’s police near helpless, report says

South Africa is facing a brutal crime crisis, and even the police admit they are struggling to keep up, a BBC report has highlighted.

Police Minister Firoz Cachalia warns that the country’s deadly criminal gangs remain a step ahead, leaving communities reeling from waves of violence.

Cachalia’s stark admission highlights a growing fear across the country: that South Africa’s gang war is far from under control.

Gang attacks, robberies, and turf wars are driving South Africa’s already high homicide rates, with an average of 63 people killed daily between April and September last year, according to BBC.

The Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces are hit hardest, where organised crime has grown increasingly sophisticated.

“I do not believe that we are currently in a position to defeat these gangs,” Cachalia told journalists, describing cartels with immense wealth and power who are operating with impunity.

Despite creating an anti-gang unit in 2019, he said police efforts remained largely reactive.

Nelson Mandela Bay has been particularly ravaged, with 118 murders recorded between August and December, and another 40 killings reported in January.

Mass shootings linked to illegal mining turf wars and gang rivalries continue to terrorize cities including Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.

South Africa has around three million legal firearms, but the same number of illegal guns are circulating, fuelling the carnage.

While President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed stronger enforcement, the grim reality is that gangs are still holding the upper hand.

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