30-05-2025
Fear and loathing: Fixing the system in a country at war
Several years ago, while living in the UK, my relative's car was broken into and his GPS was stolen.
The incident was reported to the police, but with no expectation of results. After all, in South Africa, reports are often filed solely for insurance purposes, with no real hope of police investigation.
Surprisingly, a few weeks later, the UK police found the perpetrator - a suspected drug user. They returned the GPS along with a letter from the suspect, expressing deep regret for the theft. I doubt even one South African could tell a similar story after getting robbed at home.
Fast forward to present-day South Africa. Just a week after a government delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted in the glare of international media during a meeting with US President Donald Trump that the country's crime was out of control, tragedy has struck.
A 30-year-old woman was murdered in what appears to be a horrific kidnapping and robbery attempt gone wrong, leaving her family in mourning.
Public outcry has spurred swift police action, resulting in the arrest of one suspect and an ongoing manhunt for three others. However, cases like this are sadly the exception; more often than not, reports of crime lead nowhere, and cases grow cold.
In this week's Friday Briefing, former SARS executive and crime analyst Johann van Loggerenberg unpacks how systemic failures in the criminal justice system have plunged the country into chaos. We also have a contribution from the News24 investigations team, which casts a critical eye on how senior police officials are more focused on jockeying for rank and influence than on fixing the system or combating crime.
To round up the analysis on the state of SA's crime situation, Yale University Professor Jonny Steinberg delves into the role politics play in the state's inaction to deal with high crime rates.
Additionally, in-depth writer Muhammad Hussain interviews Communications Minister Solly Malatsi about his draft ICT policy, which has stirred significant debate.
Explore these thought-provoking submissions below.
We no longer have the luxury of time to pontificate on crime
We simply do not have the luxury of time to pontificate on crime anymore. We need to do something about it. Getting the criminal justice system to operate as a system is the start, writes Johann van Loggerenberg.
Read the rest of the submission here.
COP COLD WAR | Leaks, accusations and smears: SA's top cops at war as crime rages unabated
A push for key positions in the top police ranks is under way, which could see a seismic shift in the criminal justice ecosystem. However, as the News24 investigations team highlights, that is unlikely to result in addressing SA's high crime rate.
Read the rest of the submission here.
Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images
Fear and politics: Hidden barriers to reducing SA's violent crime
Jonny Steinberg reflects on South Africa's crime rate and why it remains persistently high, arguing that part of the problem is that the state has been criminalised, and detectives investigating violent crimes fear that fellow law-enforcement officials might impede them or even have them killed.
Read the rest of the submission here.
Q&A with Solly Malatsi | 'Peel off paranoia, conspiracies, propaganda' of draft policy directive
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi defends his draft policy direction that would allow multinational companies alternatives to the 30% local ownership requirement in a Q&A with in-depth writer Muhammad Hussain. He clarifies that the status quo prevails until the process is over, meaning one shouldn't expect Starlink to enter the market soon.
