Crime & Court
Police not coping with serious violent crime, ISS laments
A steady rise in murder and armed robbery shows police are not getting a grip on serious violent crime in South Africa, despite a budget increased by almost 50% since 2011/12 to R87 billion.
This is largely due to inappropriate political interference in the police, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said in response to the latest SA Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics released on Tuesday in Parliament.
The National Development Plan called it a ‘crisis of top management’ in the SAPS. President Jacob Zuma’s presidency has resulted in a profound deterioration in policing and caused notable decline in public safety, the ISS said.
Murder
Police reported murder up 1.8% with 52 people now killed every day in South Africa on average. The murder rate has increased 13.3% in the past five years, following a 55% decrease in the first 18 years of South Africa’s democracy since 1994.
Armed robbery
In the latest SAPS figures, armed robbery increased by 8 429 cases to 140 956 (up 6.4%).
More than half of all reported armed robberies are street robberies with 79 878 recorded in the 12 months under review. Every day on average 219 cases of street robbery were reported. Street robberies increased by around 5% compared to the previous year and by 38.6% over five years.
Street robbery primarily affects the poor and working classes as it typically targets people who travel on foot and who need to use public transport to and from work, school or shops. It is one of the most feared crimes.
Armed attacks on people’s homes have increased by 1 523 reported incidents to 22 343 incidents (up 7.3%). There were 982 more armed attacks on businesses, up 5% to 20 680.
Hijacking
Hijacking of cars is up 77.5% in the past five years and up 14.5% in the year under review. There are now 46 cars hijacked a day in South Africa, more than half (52%) of them in Gauteng, where an average 24 cars are forcibly taken from drivers by armed gunmen daily.
SAPS leadership crisis
“Police reported murder up 1.8% with 52 people now killed every day in South Africa on average”
The ISS recognised the bold efforts of many competent and honest police in South Africa, but said the root of the crime and policing crises in South Africa was the failure of the president to appoint a highly experienced woman or man of integrity as SAPS National Commissioner. Ongoing political interference at all levels of the SAPS has severely weakened the organisation.
The political protection of Zuma loyalist, Crime Intelligence Head Lt-General Richard Mdluli, who has been suspended for six years with full pay and benefits despite facing criminal prosecution for murder and corruption, is one of many examples, said Gareth Newham, head of the ISS Justice and Violence Prevention Programme.
‘The protection of Mdluli has severely undermined and compromised police crime intelligence capability. This is why police cannot adequately tackle organised crime syndicates behind crimes such as hijackings and gang violence.’
The SAPS can only be professionalised when there ceases to be inappropriate political interference that favours some officers because of their political loyalties, irrespective of their conduct and ability.
If political interference is halted, then South Africans have good reason to expect better results from the police, said Newham.
‘The police have sufficient skilled operational commanders, resources and technology to effectively tackle violent criminal syndicates and gangs. But they need the right leadership for it to be effective.’
Change would need to start with the way the SAPS National Commissioner is appointed. The ISS and Corruption Watch are urging President Jacob Zuma to follow guidelines in the NDP, as adopted by the cabinet in 2012, and appoint South Africa’s top cop based on competence, experience and integrity – not political loyalty.
‘The same criminals commit many violent crimes from murder to hijacking and armed robbery,’ Newham said. ‘Failure by police to identify violent criminals and investigate their crimes just keeps them on the street as a continued public danger. Police could prevent hundreds of hijackings by stopping the activity of just one syndicate.’
Better investigation
The ISS said police urgently need to improve their capability to investigate crime, gather evidence and arrest the perpetrators. This requires police to earn the trust of communities and reverse a decline in trust levels, as indicated by the most recent Victims of Crime Survey (VoCS).
The annual SAPS crime statistics released on Tuesday cover the period April 2016 to March 2017 and are not a reflection of the past seven months in South Africa.
The ISS has noted that the VoCS found nearly five times more house robberies than those recorded by police, Newham said. ‘It may be that the police are under-recording such incidents or that there are other reasons for difference in numbers. But we need to get to the bottom of this as accurate information is critical if we are to develop effective strategies for reducing crime.’
The ISS encouraged police to work closely with Stats SA and civil society groups to ensure crime data is accurate, and that crime is tackled in a collaborative way.
The ISS points out that corruption is not a category included in the crime statistics, despite it being a criminal threat to South Africa’s economy and social cohesion.
‘Corruption undermines public safety as it weakens the economy, breaks down confidence in government and leads to community frustration.’ The public need to see that the police are proactively tackling this profound threat to our national security, the ISS said.
Operatives of the Gombe State Police Command have recovered a Toyota Highlander reported stolen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, five years ago.
The vehicle was recovered on June 8, 2026, during a routine verification exercise conducted by detectives attached to the State Intelligence Department in collaboration with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps at the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service vehicle licensing office.
The spokesperson for the command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, saying the vehicle was flagged as suspicious during the process of uploading and verifying vehicle records.
According to him, the joint team identified the Toyota Highlander bearing registration number FH823PHC and subjected it to further scrutiny, which revealed that it had been declared stolen on September 17, 2021.
Preliminary findings showed that the vehicle belonged to one Cecilia A. Duru of Akwaka Lane, Rumuodumaya, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Abdullahi said investigators subsequently uncovered a transnational movement of the vehicle, establishing that it was taken to the Niger Republic in 2023 before returning to Nigeria through Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State on October 17, 2025.
He added that the sport utility vehicle was later sold in Kaduna State and eventually brought to Gombe for re-registration, where it was detected and recovered by security operatives.
“Investigation is ongoing, as efforts are being intensified to identify and apprehend those involved,” the police spokesperson stated.
He urged members of the public to exercise caution when purchasing vehicles, advising intending buyers to verify ownership documents and authenticate vehicle records through the appropriate authorities before concluding any transaction.
The command reaffirmed its commitment to combating vehicle theft and other trans-border crimes, assuring residents that efforts were underway to arrest all those linked to the theft and illegal trafficking of the recovered vehicle.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced two women linked to a slain suspected terrorist kingpin, Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo, to a total of 40 years imprisonment for offences bordering on terrorism and aiding criminal activities.
The convicted women — Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi — who are said to be the mother and sister of the late bandit leader, were handed the sentence on Wednesday by Justice Hauwa Yilwa after they pleaded guilty to parts of a five-count terrorism charge filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Battujo, described by security operatives as a notorious bandit kingpin, was earlier eliminated by security forces on June 10, 2026, during an operation in a forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
During proceedings, the court heard that the defendants were implicated in aiding and abetting the activities of the deceased, including passing information through telephone communications and concealing aspects of his criminal operations.
According to the prosecution, both women admitted guilt to count two of the charge, which bordered on supporting and facilitating the activities of a known bandit leader in violation of Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Halima Abdullahi was further convicted on count four, which involved concealing information regarding illegal firearms allegedly acquired by her brother after she reportedly visited his forest hideout.
Safiya Salihu, on her part, also pleaded guilty to count five, which accused her of withholding information about terrorist activities linked to her son.
Although the charges also included allegations of receiving ₦490,300 suspected to be proceeds of terrorism and sponsorship of pilgrimage using illicit funds, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, urged the court to discount those counts while proceeding with conviction on others.
Justice Yilwa, in her judgment, imposed 20 years imprisonment on each of the counts, but ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, effectively making the total jail term 40 years for each convict.
The court further directed that after serving their jail terms, the convicts should undergo rehabilitation, underscoring the judiciary’s position on balancing punishment with reintegration.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned popular social media influencer and relationship therapist, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, widely known as Blessing CEO, before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, over an alleged N36m fraud linked to a property transaction.
Blessing CEO was docked before Justice Deinde Dipeolu on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.
At the resumed proceedings on Thursday, defence counsel, P. I. Nwafor, told the court that the defendant had refunded part of the money allegedly obtained from the complainant.
According to him, the influencer had refunded N24m out of the N36m involved in the matter and was making moves to settle the outstanding balance.
“We have an application to make. The defendant approached the nominal complainant and refunded N24m out of the N36m,” Nwafor said.
“We are asking for a short adjournment to resolve the outstanding balance. The nominal complainant agreed that if the balance is paid, they can prevail on the EFCC to drop the case.”
But prosecuting counsel, Suleiman I. Suleiman, opposed the request, insisting that the anti-graft agency was not part of any settlement discussion between the parties.
“The complainant here is the Federal Government of Nigeria, and we are here for the arraignment. We urge that the defendant take her plea, as that is the business of the day,” he said.
Ruling on the submission, Justice Dipeolu held that any discussion between the defendant and the nominal complainant would not stop the criminal proceedings.
“The defence and the nominal complainant can have discussions even during the pendency of the charge. It does not affect the proceedings before the court. The defendant will take her plea,” the judge ruled.
According to one of the charges, Blessing CEO allegedly obtained N36m from one Mrs Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye between July 14 and 17, 2024, under the guise of securing for her a six-bedroom detached duplex located at No. 1B, Tunbosun Osobu Street, off Kuboye Road, Lekki, Lagos.
The EFCC alleged that the representation was false and violated Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
The second charge accused the defendant of fraudulently converting the said N36m, property of the complainant, to personal use, contrary to Sections 383 and 390 of the Criminal Code Act.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following her plea, the prosecution urged the court to remand her in a correctional facility and fix a date for trial.
However, the defence counsel informed the court that the defendant had only been served with the charges on May 14, 2026, adding that efforts were ongoing to file her bail application.
He thereafter appealed to the court to allow the defendant remain in EFCC custody pending the perfection of her bail conditions.
Justice Dipeolu granted the request and ordered that Blessing CEO be remanded in EFCC custody.
The case was subsequently adjourned till June 5, 2026, for commencement of trial.
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