As gang violence in the Western Cape continues unabated, 35 members of the police’s specialised unit to deal with gangs are under investigation themselves. (Image for illustrative purposes.)
- 35 members of the Western Cape Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) are under criminal investigation, with 45 facing internal disciplinary actions.
- This is according to acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia in response to a Parliamentary question from DA MP Lisa Schickerling.
- The AGU has 784 case dockets in court as of 2 April, with convictions rising from 35 in 2022-’23 to 49 in 2025-’26.
As gang violence in the Western Cape continues unabated, 35 members of the specialised unit to deal with gangs are under investigation themselves.
Furthermore, 45 members of the Western Cape Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) are also facing disciplinary proceedings.
In a parliamentary question, DA MP Lisa Schickerling asked acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia how many members of the Western Cape Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) are the subject of criminal investigations and facing internal disciplinary proceedings.
Cachalia responded: “Thirty-five members of the Western Cape AGU are the subject of criminal investigations.
“Forty-five members of the Western Cape AGU are facing internal disciplinary proceedings.”
It is unclear how many members the AGU has – the police have previously indicated in a parliamentary response from July last year that they can’t disclose the number of members in the unit, “as this may compromise their operational effectiveness and pose unnecessary risks to the members”.
While the crimes the 35 members are accused of were not specified by Cachalia, 11 members of the unit are standing trial for the alleged murder of a Manenberg gang member. In February, the Western Cape High Court relaxed their bail conditions, allowing them to continue working in Manenberg.
READ | High Court relaxes bail condition, allows 11 accused AGU officers to work in Manenberg
In response to another question from Schickerling, Cachalia said the AGU dealt with 203 case dockets in 2022-’23, 97 the following year, 82 in 2024-’25, and 107 dockets in 2025-’26 up until the end of February (the financial year ends on 31 March).
On 2 April, the unit had 784 case dockets at court.
In 2022-’23, 35 of the unit’s dockets resulted in convictions, the following year 79, the year after that 43, and in 2025-’26, up until February, 49.
The total number of arrests the unit has made over the four years has grown, starting with 176 in 2022-’23, 203 in 2023-’24, 245 in 2024-’25, and 268 in 2025-’26, up to February.
The South African National Defence Force has been deployed to the Cape Flats on 1 April to assist the police, but there have been several killings despite this deployment.
Jan Gerber
www.news24.com
