Honourable House Chairperson,
The ACDP welcomes the news from the Minister that the South African Police Service is taking major steps to combat extortion and protection rackets in the nation.
These practices are perpetrated across the country. Organised crime syndicates operate with strong connections within local communities, who live in fear. Extortionists are often aided by corrupt police or government officials who protect these criminals, obstruct investigations, or even participate in these crimes themselves as seen by the arrest of Captain Wilford Qikwa who appeared in the Blue Downs Magistrate Court on extortion charges.
Syndicate methods involve violence and assassinations holding up major infrastructure and housing projects. Their tentacles reach to top construction companies and businessmen, to city electrical engineers, local fibre installers, bus companies, and even a school for deaf children in the Eastern Cape.
Honourable House Chairperson, evidence is key in prosecution yet, if victims report the crime to the authorities, they live in fear. This has been exacerbated by ineffectiveness of police in providing protection or pursuing justice. Swift prosecution is essential before communities resort to vigilante justice. Additionally, as one constituent commented, “our whole criminal justice and legal system is unsuited to what is happening here and, arguably, it is not fit for purpose.”
The ACDP notes that SAPS and other law enforcement agencies have lacked the resources, training, and manpower necessary to effectively combat organised crime and extortion. This includes inadequate technology as well as forensic capabilities, and is evidenced by the fact that over the last 5 years, 722 extortionists were arrested but only 52 found guilty and sentenced. This equates to a dismal and shameful 7% conviction rate. The ACDP, last week, called on the Minister to improve cooperation with all crime fighting agencies to increase conviction rates.
Honourable House Chairperson, the ACDP laments the cold-blooded murder of a 64-year-old granny, shot in her head by extortionists in Kraaifontein because she was unable to pay their fees. May our Gogo’s death never be in vain and never go unpunished. This extortion ring must be smashed, and no stone must be left unturned in bringing these murderous extortionists to book.
