In response to a question posed by Rise Mzansi National Assembly Caucus Whip Magashule Gana, Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu revealed that in the 2023/24 financial year, police had withdrawn 1 416 cases of rape due to insufficient evidence.
The question posed by Gana further inquired on the total number of cases which the National Prosecuting Authority refused to prosecute. However, Mchunu responded that “the South African Police Service (SAPS) cannot determine the total number of cases that the National Prosecuting Authority refused to prosecute in 2023/24.”
The Minister’s reply further revealed a total of 4 153 alleged incidents of wrongful arrest were registered with SAPS, and they had received claims totalling R2 241 082 675. Mchunu noted however, that “this is not the amount that would potentially be paid to claimants.”
Gana additionally posed the question of “what total number of suspects arrested during shootouts with the SAPS have been released due to insufficient evidence in the 2013 to 2023 financial years?” Mchunu’s reply additionally revealed the painstaking process officers used to management case documents.
The Minister noted this information “is not readily available on the Case Administration System (CAS)/Investigate Case Docket Management System (ICDMS),” and a detailed analysis would need to be conducted, per station, to provide this information.
“Case dockets will have to be extracted from archives and manually perused to identify the cases that relate to this request. This will be an extremely time-consuming exercise, which, given the operational policing requirement, would not be practical, as it will divert critical resources, thereby impacting negatively on service delivery,” noted the Minister
In a statement issued in response, Gana reiterated the “need for more detectives to ensure that all credible cases reach their natural conclusion, which is to see violent criminals in prison for rehabilitation.” Further, the statement noted the closure of rape cases as an issue of great concern, particularly given the prevalence of gender-based violence committed against women.
Noting previous responses by the Minister revealing SAPS had 8 594 vacant detective posts, Gana stated that “the women and men in blue are overstretched,” and this would naturally lead to officers missing key evidence at times.
“It is therefore vital that a full complement of detectives is recruited in order to ensure that there is a full detective service that is able to ensure that heinous crimes such as rape, murder and hijacking are investigated and prosecuted,” said Gana.
