Premier Lesufi must account for illegitimate deployment of Amapanyaza
A group of Gauteng's crime prevention wardens during a pass-out parade in Soshanguve. The unit known as AmaPanyaza will be reconfigured and retrained to be in line with the law.
Image: Supplied
The decision by the Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s administration to deploy crime-prevention wardens known as Amapanyaza was always deeply flawed.
From its inception, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has warned that the initiative was unrealistic, implemented in haste, and lacked the necessary legal foundation.
We cautioned that recruits were inadequately trained, insufficiently resourced, and had not been accredited or empowered to undertake the functions assigned to them. We further stressed that the programme risked being unsustainable and exposed both wardens and the public to enormous risk.
Recent findings validate these concerns. The Public Protector has concluded that the establishment and deployment of the Amapanyaza were irregular and unconstitutional: the provincial government lacked the power to assume policing functions, and the wardens had no lawful basis to conduct searches, make arrests, or enforce the law.
Indeed, Premier Lesufi has now announced a phased disbandment of the unit, redirecting it into traffic-warden duties over the next 18-36 months.
Beyond the legality, the human and financial costs are severe. The programme drained scarce public resources, diverted funds from other pressing needs, and placed individuals into roles for which they were neither prepared nor properly supported.
From the three wardens who were attacked in Reiger Park, Boksburg, in September 2024, to the five wardens who were shot in September 2025, to Vinchenzo Lodewyk, who was shot and injured on duty, promises to train, appoint, and equip wardens have remained largely on paper.
The DA’s warnings were valid; this was not a serious crime-fighting intervention but a political gesture that collapsed under its own weight. We demand accountability for wasted funds and the endangered lives of wardens and residents. The people of Gauteng deserve genuine, lawful, and sustainable safety solutions, not political projects built on empty promises.
Solly Msimanga MPL, DA Gauteng Leader for the Official Opposition