Gauteng has a new name, “Kidnapping Capital of SA”, due to concentrated kidnapping incidents taking place in the province, nearly 53% of all the kidnapping cases in South Africa happen in Gauteng. While there are some incidents where the victims have been successfully rescued and arrests have been made, there has been a worrying trend of kidnappers, allegedly disguising themselves as law enforcement agencies. In latest crackdown, police uniforms and badges are seized on the crime scene.
This follows the recent incident of a kidnapped Chinese female victim, who had been missing since June 2025 and was successfully rescued last week in Lenasia. Johannesburg Metro Police uniforms and badges were found on the scene. It is believed that kidnappers and their accomplices pretend to be police officers, wearing police regalia and possibly in branded or unbranded police vehicles, using blue light to stop and lure the victims. This is not an isolated incident. According to the South African Police Crime Statistics, kidnapping cases have increased by 15.8% in Gauteng from 2085 in the fourth quarter of the 2023/2024 financial year to 2414 in the same quarter for the 2024/2025 financial year. Gauteng remains the epicentre for kidnappings with 52.8% nationally.
We want to congratulate and encourage the Gauteng SAPS on the recent arrest of kidnapping criminals and rescue of the victim, but more must be done, other victims are still missing, and their families don’t know if the victims are still alive.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) demands swift intervention by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, the National Minister of Police, Professor Firoz Cachalia together with SAPS and Metro Police, to enhance control of police uniforms, badges, and insignia.
The current processes around issuing, controlling, and destroying police uniforms are loosely managed and often go unquestioned. Consequently, criminals exploit this by impersonating law enforcement officers, using uniforms and even fake police vehicles to deceive the public, who, out of respect for the authority linked with the uniform, often comply.
The DA will table questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain the processes involved in issuing and destroying police uniforms. We also want to know the requirements of procuring and selling police uniforms.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Department of Community Safety would collaborate with the National Department of Police to strengthen the manufacturing and issuance of police uniforms and insignia, ensuring they are produced only by authorised suppliers, with strict verification and serial tracking systems. We would also ensure that accountability and destruction protocols are in place for all damaged, scrapped, or surplus uniforms and badges to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Additionally, we would establish a centralised audit and oversight system to perform regular checks on police stations and municipal law enforcement agencies, ensuring accountability for every uniform, badge, and piece of police gear.