Police directorate deals with wayward cops

THE Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) secured 15 convictions against police officers on various serious offences, including rape, murder, assault and torture in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025/26.

This was revealed by IPID acting executive director Dr Hlengani Bila while addressing the Portfolio Committee of Police in Parliament on Wednesday.

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Bila said he was pleased with the first quarter performance of his department, especially in the core business, which is investigations. However, there is room for improvement, he noted.

The sentences for these offences range from penalties or fines to a few months imprisonment for assault, 8 to 25 years for rape by police officers, and life sentences for murder.

“IPID’s case intake for Q1 in the current financial year was at 1 171 as compared with 1 361 in the same period of 2024/25. The case drivers were assault and torture, death due to police action, and the discharge of an official firearm.

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“Most of the cases were in our four hotspot provinces, namely the Western Cape with 213, Gauteng (177), KZN (161) and the Eastern Cape (138). The province with the least intake is North West, with 73 cases,” said Bila.

Bila explained that 22 cases of rape were registered in Q1 of the last financial year, while 27 were reported in Q1 of 2025/26.

“Gauteng continues to lead on rape cases, with five recorded in Q1. In this first quarter, we referred 390 dockets to the National Prosecuting Authority for a decision to prosecute. As at the end of Q1, 1 090 cases were on the court roll,” added Bila.

He further informed the portfolio committee that IPID remains committed to further reducing the backlog of cases. As of May 2025, IPID had a backlog of 14 907.

“Thirty-six retired detectives will be appointed within three years through a phased-in approach to investigate and finalise backlog cases where there is high pressure, in our hotspot provinces. To date, 10 retired detectives are in the employ of IPID, five will be appointed in this financial year, and the remaining appointments will be finalised in the outer year,” he said.

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