FOLLOWING its recent oversight visit, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police has flagged potential corruption in the South African Police Service’s ongoing R500 000-per-month lease of a flood-damaged forensic science laboratory in Amanzimtoti.

Also read: Forensic laboratory in Amanzimtoti crippled

Despite being structurally unsound and not fully usable due to repeated flooding, which has caused R70m in equipment damage, SAPS continues to occupy the building. Committee chair Ian Cameron described the lease as “inexplicable” and linked the facility’s condition to a national DNA case backlog of 140 000.

Located in the CBD behind the Post Office, the laboratory is one of only four in South Africa, alongside facilities in Gauteng, the Western Cape, and the Eastern Cape.

“This building has suffered extensive flood damage over the years, with some floors rendered unusable, yet the lease continues, and no sustainable plan has been put in place to resolve the issue. This is an inexplicable use of public funds,” said Cameron.

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Senior SAPS officials informed the committee that talks with the building’s owner have so far yielded no solutions. This has raised suspicions among committee members about the integrity of the lease renewals.

Following the visit to the FSL, the committee also toured the ballistics section on Kingsway Road, which was found to be in better condition than the biological laboratory.

The committee has since called on SAPS management and the Department of Public Works to urgently conclude discussions and secure a permanent, functional facility. The report emphasises that the continued neglect of forensic infrastructure undermines the broader criminal justice system.

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