Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Michael Sun MPL.
Gang violence is tightening its grip on Gauteng, with organised criminal gangs terrorising communities and recruiting children. Over the past four years, 258 people have been murdered and 408 have survived attempted murders linked to gangsterism, exposing Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government’s failure to address the scourge and protect Gauteng residents.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns this senseless violence calls on the Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni, to urgently intervene and ensure the deployment of specialised SAPS units to investigate, dismantle and bring to justice the criminal gangs terrorising Gauteng communities.
Responding to written questions posed by the DA in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) regarding gang violence in Gauteng, Premier Lesufi painted a disturbing picture of communities besieged by organised criminal networks.
He revealed that between 2022/23 and 2025/26, Gauteng saw 678 violent crimes linked to gang violence, including 258 murders, 408 attempted murders, and 12 assaults. Police recorded 979 gangsterism-related cases, indicating that gangs are deeply entrenched in the province. The deadliest year was 2023/24, when Gauteng recorded 83 gang-related murders and 165 attempted murders.
The Premier also identifies Sophiatown, Westbury, Eldorado Park, Langlaagte, Riverlea, Reiger Park, Booysens, Chrisville, Bella Vista, Moffatview, South Hills and Mohlakeng in Toekomsrus as the province’s principal gang hotspots. These are communities where residents continue to live in fear and where children and young people are vulnerable to gang recruitment.
While the disclosure that the police made 641 gang-related arrests and confiscated 189 illegal firearms over the past four years is commendable, the sharp increase in firearms seized from 14 in 2022/23 to 77 in 2025/26 highlights the growing firepower available to criminal gangs in Gauteng and the escalating threat they pose to communities.
Despite this escalating crisis, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has allocated only R3.822 million to the Anti-Gang Unit within Visible Policing for the 2025/26 financial year. Even more concerning is the department’s admission that there is no dedicated budget for anti-gang investigations.
This mismatch is deeply concerning. Gangsterism cannot be addressed through empty promises or reactive policing. It needs intelligence-led operations, specialised investigations, removal of illegal firearms, decisive action against drug syndicates, and prevention programmes for vulnerable youth.
The DA is the only party committed to rooting out gangsterism and restoring the rule of law in Gauteng communities. Through our CCC approach – Catch, Convict and Clean – we will catch gang members, convict them, and clean our neighbourhoods. We will also ramp up efforts to eliminate illegal firearms and roll out community outreach programmes aimed at guiding young people away from gangsterism.