South Africa’s acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has acknowledged that the South African Police Service (SAPS) is not yet in a position to defeat organised criminal gangs, particularly in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces, highlighting ongoing challenges in tackling violent crime. 

Cachalia made the remarks on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, during a crime-focused engagement with community leaders, church representatives and members of community policing forums in Nelson Mandela Bay, a metropolitan area that has seen persistent and deadly gang violence in recent months, IOL reported. 

“The police are on a killing spree in the Western Cape, with a similar pattern emerging in the Eastern Cape,” Cachalia said, describing the scale and complexity of gang-related crime as a growing and deeply entrenched problem for law enforcement, Daily News reported. 

Officials from local crime prevention groups have documented a sharp escalation in violence in the northern areas of the metro, including Gelvandale, Algoa Park and Helenvale with at least 118 people reported killed between August and December 2025. The violence has reportedly continued into January 2026, authorities said. 

Cachalia noted that while arrests, drug busts and other operational responses are ongoing, the problem cannot be fully addressed through intermittently established anti-gang units alone. He said that an ad hoc approach has not been sufficient and that a comprehensive strategy is still being finalised by police management and awaited by the ministry. 

Community leaders welcomed the minister’s visit but stressed that more resources and stronger coordination are needed to curb the violence. Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe described the session as productive and said it highlighted local frustrations about gang activity and the safety of residents.

Political representatives and civic stakeholders have called for more specialised policing capacity, improved intelligence-led operations, and sustained collaboration between national and local law enforcement to confront organised crime, which includes gang violence, extortion rackets and related criminal activity.