In any other country, the killing of sixty six police officers in just two years would trigger a national crisis and emergency interventions, In South Africa, it earns a solemn ceremony and a moving speech.
On Sunday, Deputy President Paul Mashatile stood at the foot of the Union Buildings to deliver a heartfelt address during the National Police Commemoration Day honouring twenty seven officers killed in the line of duty during the 2024 to 2025 financial year. Last year, the number was thirty nine. Together, the two years represent one of the most violent periods for the South African Police Service in recent memory.
“These deaths have ruthlessly torn apart sixty six families,” Mashatile said, his voice heavy with emotion. “Their sacrifice reminds us that maintaining the delicate balance between order and chaos is costly.”
He spoke directly to the grieving families gathered beneath the Wall of Remembrance, offering personal condolences and singling out two fallen officers. One was Constable Boikokobetso Sonopo, just twenty six years old, murdered during a patrol in Mount Fletcher. The other, Lieutenant Colonel Pieter Pretorius, was gunned down in Ermelo in January, only months from retirement. Both were ambushed. Both paid the ultimate price for serving their communities.
But the emotional weight of the ceremony could not hide the deeper crisis unfolding within the police service itself.
The killings come amid serious instability in the SAPS leadership. A growing power struggle has emerged between National Commissioner Fannie Masemola and Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya the head of Crime Intelligence. Senior sources confirm that operational divisions have been politicised, with internal sabotage, factionalism, and mistrust now deeply embedded in the top ranks.
Even the government’s own messaging reflects the turmoil. The speech was delivered not by the President or the Minister of Police, but by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, accompanied by Professor Firoz Cachalia, who is currently serving as Acting Minister of Police. However, South Africa’s Constitution contains no provision for an acting police minister, raising both legal and governance concerns about the leadership structure overseeing law enforcement.
“It’s embarrassing,” said one retired police general. “We are burying police officers while politicians fight each other for control of the service.”
In historical terms, the numbers are deeply concerning. During the early 2000s, South Africa averaged more than one hundred police deaths per year, but this dropped steadily in the 2010s. By 2020, line of duty deaths had decreased to around forty annually. The recent two year spike to sixty six raises fears that years of progress are being undone by rising criminal violence and weakened institutional leadership.
Mashatile warned that the threats officers now face come increasingly from sophisticated organised crime networks, including drug syndicates and heavily armed gangs. He cited the recent killing of Sergeant Lawrence Mtshweni in Mpumalanga, shot by seven robbers during a store robbery, as evidence of the brazen violence targeting law enforcement.
The Acting President promised that government is intensifying support for the SAPS, through more resources, stronger laws, better intelligence, and renewed efforts to root out internal corruption.
“Attacking a police officer is an attack on the State itself,” he declared. “And it will be met with the full might of the law.”
But many within the force remain sceptical. Similar promises have been made before. The deaths continue.
As the names of the twenty seven officers were read aloud and etched into the national memory, Mashatile urged those still serving not to hesitate in defence of their lives.
“You must not die with your firearms in your holsters,” he said. “Use force that is proportional to the threat.”
The Star
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