Police have abandoned communities to crime and fear

South Africa’s policing crisis has reached breaking point. The South African Police Service (SAPS) has become synonymous with ineptitude, corruption and indifference. The killing of Kempton Park runner Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, who was found beaten and killed and her body dumped, brought the reality into sharp focus.

Since July, the bodies of nine women have been discovered in Ekurhuleni, yet police failed to warn the public about the possibility of a serial killer or killers being on the loose.

Criminals operate with impunity while communities are told to “be vigilant”. Kempton Park epitomises the collapse. Residents are left paralysed by fear and speculation.

The police’s statement advising women against jogging or walking alone angered many. Instead of proactive crime prevention, the SAPS shifts responsibility onto women, demanding vigilance while failing to provide protection. This is not policing. It is abdication.

The country reportedly recorded more than 50 000 gender-based violence cases in the past financial year. Yet in Kempton Park there were no urgent interventions until women’s bodies continued to be found across Ekurhuleni, a chilling sign of the breakdown in law and order.

The failure is worsened by allegations that police officers accept bribes from criminals. Others appear ignorant of the laws they are meant to enforce. Such conduct destroys trust and emboldens criminals.

Communities’ pleas appear to fall on deaf ears. The perception, reinforced by repeated scandals, is that the SAPS is compromised and incapable of protecting citizens from drug syndicates, traffickers and violent offenders. Government priorities deepen the sense of betrayal. A few months ago, R600 million was reportedly spent deploying massive police resources and private security to protect businesses and migrants, some undocumented.

Meanwhile, communities remain vulnerable to drug abuse, human trafficking and child exploitation. The Madlanga commission has exposed allegations of corruption and mismanagement, yet resources appear to flow more readily to political optics than to community safety.

Where is the urgency to crack down on child trafficking and drug networks in townships?

South Africa has become a reactionary, fire-fighting society. Leaders deliver platitudes and sound bites but communities are left asking where the police are when they are needed most.

Where, too, is the accountability for billions spent on GBV programmes that have failed to produce tangible safety for women? The absence of convincing answers reinforces the view of a government that does not care enough, a police service that does not act decisively and communities left to fend for themselves.

The tragedy is compounded by race, gender and poverty. Black women bear the brunt of violence and institutional neglect.

When they take to the streets demanding safety, some are dismissed as xenophobic vigilantes if they raise concerns about undocumented migrants in communities struggling with lawlessness. Silencing the voices deepens the inequality over whose safety is urgent.

Underlying all this is unemployment. Millions of young men face lives with few prospects, many trapped in drug and alcohol abuse. They become victims and perpetrators of crime, often posing a danger to women.

Until South Africa confronts unemployment as a driver of violence, policing will remain a plaster over a festering wound.

The Kempton Park killings are a national indictment.

South Africa deserves better. Women deserve better. Communities deserve better.

The uncertainty in Kempton Park is not only about whether a serial killer is on the loose. It is about whether the police are capable of protecting the public.

Too many communities have reason to doubt it.

• Botha is a gender activist