Latest news with #AmaPanyaza
Eyewitness News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
'AmaPanyaza' have arrested more than 25k people since establishment in 2023
JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng crime prevention wardens have arrested more than 25,000 people since their establishment in 2023. Informally known as AmaPanyaza, the wardens programme was conceived by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to assist with the growing levels of crime in the province. However, opposition parties have raised concerns over the inadequate training for the wardens and also the financial cost to the provincial government. Responding to questions at the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday, Lesufi said the wardens had contributed to the recent decrease in crime and road fatalities in the province. "Indicating our commitments to have boots on the ground and to provide additional support to the SAPS [South African Police Service] within wards and CBD, and also to provide visibility in sporting events, ensuring that people attending sporting events are not mugged or their cellphones taken. Also providing essential infrastructure support in patrolling strategic infrastructure areas." Lesufi said the provincial government was committed to providing further training to the wardens. "I'm in deep discussion with the minister of police and his advisers to determine the next level of training according to the approval that we are still awaiting to ensure they are trained according to the capabilities and gaps identified by the SAPS [South African Police Service]."
IOL News
08-05-2025
- IOL News
Premier Lesufi must end Amapanyaza's brutality
The Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens better known as 'AmaPanyaza' are in the spotlight over alleged brutality. Premier Panyaza Lesufi must take decisive action to ensure that Crime Prevention Wardens, also known as Amapanyaza, face consequences for instilling fear and wreaking havoc across Gauteng communities. A recent incident has surfaced on social media, showing wardens violently kicking a young and defenceless homeless man. This is not an isolated incident; last year, crime wardens were seen assaulting a woman without provocation. The DA Gauteng has consistently raised concerns about the Amapanyazas' lack of training, oversight, and professional management. These incidents validate our worries and highlight the lack of discipline and compassion within their ranks. Premier Lesufi must stop flooding our communities with wardens who lack training and management but ride around town in fancy BMWs, as they have failed to show a real reduction in crime and become a law unto themselves. Premier Lesufi must tell us how many formal complaints have been lodged against the Amapanyaza since the inception of this programme and how many of these have led to prosecutions. The people of Gauteng deserve to know. The DA-led Gauteng provincial government will mandate de-escalation training for all wardens, establish clear operating rules to outline the scope and limits of warden authority, and conduct monthly performance reports to assess their efficacy. Where wardens cause disturbance, we will investigate and prosecute anyone involved. Michael Sun, DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Community Safety
