Calls for WC Police Commissioner to resign amid crime rates

The Western Cape is facing a relentless wave of violence, with innocent victims, including children, frequently caught in the crossfire. As the death toll rises, calls for the resignation of Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile are intensifying

Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile is not about to up and leave his more than R1-million-a-year job anytime soon, he said on Wednesday that he now wants to work very hard to make the province safer.

And he has a “comprehensive policing strategy” up his sleeve to do just that, he said.

"As the provincial commissioner of the Western Cape, I undertake to work with all other legitimate stakeholders within the province whose objective is to create safety in communities," he said.

But experts and community leaders are not convinced, saying it was far too little, too late.

Patekile's remarks come hot on the heels of a scathing report, recently forced to be released by Premier Alan Winde, which said the province’s men and women in blue have been in bed with the maniacal hoodlums of the notorious 28s gang.

It also comes less than 24 hours after a nine-year-old boy was among three people killed in Mitchells Plain on Tuesday night, while two others were shot dead minutes apart near the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The Western Cape is ranked among the top contributors to the bad crime situation in SA alongside provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.

The latest crime statistics, released last week by acting police minister Firoz Cachalia for the first six months of the 2025/2026 financial year, attest to that.

The Western Cape recorded an alarming 2,308 murders during that period.

Some of the hardest-hit communities include Delft, Mfuleni, and Kraaifontein, where residents continue to face relentless gun violence.

According to Patekile, serious violent crime in the Western Cape is concentrated within the City of Cape Town district.

Of the 152 police stations in the Western Cape, 62 are in the City of Cape Town and contribute 65% to contact crime of the province.

Patekile said policing efforts were often impeded by

• Densely populated communities;
• Informal settlements that are poorly lit with no access roads;
• High unemployment with no diversion programs for the youth;
• Sprawling municipal flats developed during apartheid years and are breeding ground for gang violence;

Patekile said the Western Cape was littered with high incidence of gang violence, extortion as well as taxi conflict violence.

"Armed with a policing approach, Western Cape police management has taken out gang bigwigs, extortion racket leaders and hitmen," he said.

Anti-crime activist, Yusuf Abramjee, said there needed to be "urgent and immediate intervention".

"Urgent resources must be deployed to the Cape Flats to bring an end to, or at least control, the gang warfare," Abramjee said.

"Regarding [Patekile], I have seen calls for his resignation.

"I don’t believe that will solve the problem ... the solution lies in police leadership, both nationally and politically, developing and implementing a clear strategy to combat gang warfare.

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