President Cyril Ramaphosa Warns Police Killings Threaten State Stability

Speaking at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Ramaphosa said the officers who died in the line of duty during the 2025/26 financial year should not be remembered as statistics.

"When criminals target a police officer, they are attacking the integrity of the State, the rule of law and the constitutional order. They are not just attacking an individual. They are attacking the people of South Africa."

Nine of the 12 officers were from Gauteng, while North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga each recorded one death. The youngest officer slain was 25.

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A Crisis of Violence

The commemoration comes as South Africa continues to grapple with alarmingly high levels of violent crime. According to police statistics for the last three months of 2025, the country recorded 6,351 murders—an average of 71 people killed every day.

The Western Cape, where nine of the 12 fallen officers served, has been particularly affected by gang violence. In January 2026, Ramaphosa condemned a weekend in Cape Town's Cape Flats area where 26 people were killed in 24 hours. The Cape Flats region has long been plagued by gang violence, with local police stations recording 2,104 murders between January and September 2025.

The Police Safety Action Plan

Ramaphosa announced the SAPS Police Safety Action Plan—"Think First – Act Safe: Every Call, Every Time"—which is structured around governance, proactive and reactive interventions, infrastructure safety and redress.

The President stressed that policing alone cannot solve the crisis, adding: "The fight against crime must become a project of responsible citizenship: respecting the law, rejecting corruption, reporting criminality and teaching our children that respect for human life is the foundation of a stable democracy."

Ramaphosa also appealed to corporate South Africa to support the SAPSET Education Trust, which has assisted 2,215 children of fallen officers since 2010.

A System Under Strain

The police force has faced significant leadership instability. In July 2025, Ramaphosa appointed Firoz Cachalia as acting National Police Commissioner following the suspension of his predecessor, who was accused of serious corruption and political interference. The Democratic Alliance has called for the appointment of a permanent commissioner, arguing that South Africa cannot afford to fight its crime crisis under temporary leadership.

Military Deployment to Crime Hotspots

In February 2026, Ramaphosa announced the deployment of 2,200 soldiers to five provinces worst affected by organised crime, gang violence and illegal mining—Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Free State and North West. The deployment, which will run until March 2027, is part of Operation Prosper.

The first soldiers were deployed to Gauteng, including Johannesburg, in March, with the main contingent arriving in Cape Town in early April. The troops are operating alongside police in areas plagued by gang violence, extortion and taxi-related conflict.

However, security experts and city officials have warned that military intervention is only a temporary solution. JP Smith, Cape Town's mayoral committee member for safety and security, noted that military forces cannot arrest or search civilians and that their presence provides only short-term relief. Criminal justice experts have also warned that once the soldiers leave, violence is likely to return unless underlying issues such as corruption, gang leadership and the illicit economy are addressed.

With reporting from Xinhua, SABC News, The Citizen and News24.