Only 4% of the 359 police corruption cases investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) between 2019 and 2024 resulted in prosecution.
Of the 359 cases reported to the police watchdog, 83% resulted in no prosecution, 13% led to internal disciplinary action, and 4% went to court, resulting in just seven police officers being convicted.
You cannot fix corruption in any agency if leadership is compromised or even perceived to be compromised.
— Gareth Newman, special adviser to the police minister
These figures are contained in a police corruption report released by the Institute for Security Studies last week.
Of the 359 cases, 290 were for extortion and bribes, 27 for the sale and theft of exhibits, 17 for the abuse of informer fees, eight for the sale, theft and destruction of police dockets, seven for aiding an escape, five for abuse of power and another five for issuing fraudulent vehicle certificates.
Ipid conceded to recording 80 corruption-related cases against 73 police officials and seven involving metro police in the 2024/25 financial year.
Ipid spokesperson Lizzy Suping said, however, that corruption cases appeared lower than other offence categories Ipid handles largely because the directorate lacks adequate investigative muscle.
“In 2024/25 we had about 180 investigators. Measures have been put in place to improve capacity. Retired detectives have been appointed on a contract basis to alleviate the caseload,” she said.
These findings emerge as the Madlanga commission and parliament’s ad hoc committee probe deep-rooted failures in policing, including criminal infiltration of the criminal justice system.
Thuso Keefelakae, Ipid’s acting national investigations head, said recent revelations in parliament and at the Madlanga commission suggest corruption inside police ranks may be “far deeper” than previously understood.
“There’s a sense that corruption hid itself inside law enforcement. What we thought we knew may only be the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Keefelakae said Ipid does not yet have the full mandate to handle police corruption.
“[The police service] and metro police are not obligated to report corruption to us,” he said. “That means we only see a glimpse of what is happening. The recently passed Ipid Amendment Act will finally compel police to refer these matters to Ipid.”
He accepted that the cases Ipid receive show a disturbing pattern: police corruption rarely occurs alone; officers often operate in cahoots with outsiders and criminal networks.
“In some cases, you realise police are involved in murders, people being thrown into lakes, and money changes hands afterwards. In provinces where torture is reported, it’s not just torture; it’s torture plus corruption,” he said.
Keefelakae described officers arriving under the pretence of attending a complaint but acting on inside information that a victim had cash at home.
“They get there at night wearing balaclavas, assault the person, take the taxi boss’s firearm and walk out with R500,000.”
Gareth Newham, special adviser to the police minister and co-author of the report, said the commissions must not stop at naming culprits but must reform the system itself.
“Twenty-five years ago, national commissioner Jackie Selebi was convicted of corruption. If lessons had been integrated, especially around how we recruit and appoint top leadership, we would not be facing the same issues today. You cannot fix corruption in any agency if leadership is compromised or even perceived to be compromised,” he said.
Kavisha Pillay, executive director for the Campaign on Digital Ethics and former member of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, said she is unsurprised by the corruption allegations.
“I’ve long understood the deep complicity between police officers and organised criminal syndicates. We welcome this Madlanga commission like [the] Zondo [commission]; it is an important moment for the country to confront systemic corruption. But there must be follow-through: arrests, accountability, and implementation.”
Sowetan