Crisis deepens as law enforcers lose public trust

2026-03-19 - 03:00

The police who police us, the keepers of law and order, have gone rogue. As a country, it is easy to believe there is no longer any faith in the South African justice system. That a child molester can be given a mere R2 000 bail warning and a reminder to report to a police station every Monday is laughable. That a murderer who butchers cash-in-transit security personnel with not a thought spared for the value of life can be granted bail and considered a community leader; and that a 24- and 26-year-old can brazenly kill security guards who serve and protect their own community is in itself a sign there is no law and order. Hence, the public cannot be blamed for not having any faith in the men and women in blue and the courts – Lady Justice in SA has lost her way. We are a nation under siege. While there are officers who go beyond the call of duty, some even losing their lives, and judges and magistrates who love their calling and cannot be bought, unfortunately the two important facets of public order they work in are littered with rotten apples who spoil a bag in its entirety. Two security guards lose their lives, a squad of police officers go toe-to-toe with murderers, possibly even civilians risk their lives in alerting the police of the suspects whereabouts – all the risk, all the danger. And then, if perpetrators are apprehended and not killed, pockets are lined. In a month, they are back roaming the streets and security of the neighbourhoods across the country is threatened again. It makes one beg the question, how and when did it become so commonplace for children so young to be so careless about the value of human life? This week, a former member of an elite unit in the police force was charged with the murder of Marius van der Merwe, also known as Witness D. Matipandile Sotheni, the alleged hitman charged with murdering Marius van der Merwe, worked in private security but had been trained by the police’s elite Special Task Force, which costs the state at least R1 million to train each officer. This then begs another question: where do the ones lost to the system with these skills end up? Can they be regulated, along with their “skill to kill?”. While obviously keeping tracks on individuals might be a mammoth task, we must ask ourselves what protective measure does the state have for those who might and do go rogue?