Government

South Africa’s criminal mafia capital – and the big extortion hotspots

Seth Thorne

 ·2 Oct 2024

The Northern Cape is the only province in South Africa where no extortion cases are currently open and under investigation—while the Western Cape has almost 120.

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu revealed this in response to a question posed to him in Parliament by Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana about extortion gangs targeting small businesses across the country.

According to Mchunu, the Organised Crime Investigations capability (within the Detective and Forensic Services) has investigated 312 extortion cases in this regard since 1 April 2023.

The most cases opened have been seen in the Western Cape, followed by the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and then KwaZulu-Natal – which have been identified as extortion hotspots.

The minister emphasised that this does not mean that these are not all the extortion cases going on, as many do not report out of fear of retaliation from the groups.

According to a recent presentation to Parliament by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints), the district hotspots have been identified as:

Mchunu said that for the same period in question, the total number of arrests made in relation to these cases has been.

Here’s the data organized in a table format, sorted in descending order by the number of arrests:

“There have been no convictions in respect of any of these cases, to date, as they are currently on the court roll,” said Mchunu.

Natjoints recently revealed that of 6,056 extortion cases reported between April 2019 and March 2024, only 178 resulted in convictions, which some say reflects a systemic issue in both cases themselves and the nature of the crimes, as many complainants withdraw their cases due to fear of retaliation from extortionists.

The minister said that various strides have been made to combat the rising incidents of extortion and violence at construction, business, and other sites across the country.

This includes the establishment of an investigative capacity within the Organised Crime Investigations and Serious and Violent Crime Investigations Components of the Division: Detective and Forensic Services.

Mchunu said that the South African Police Service (SAPS) have been mobilising specialised resources to provinces where the threat of violence has outstripped local police capabilities.

This includes deploying specialised investigation teams and visible policing units to stabilise the situation and support ongoing project-driven investigations.

The Minister highlighted a recent escalation of resources to the Eastern Cape Province following discussions with the community of the OR Tambo District Municipality in Gqeberha. The deployment in this region comprises both a specialised investigation capacity and additional visible policing units.

There is a National Core Command Group (NCCG) and a National Strategy on Extortion, with backing from the business sector.

A national database for construction projects has been set up, and hotlines for reporting extortion have launched in the Eastern and Western Cape, receiving notable community engagement.

In the Eastern Cape, 1,525 calls led to 37 cases, while the Western Cape had 71 positive calls.

Operation Silapha has deployed 104 members for threat stabilisation, resulting in arrests and seizures. A national hotline will launch on September 20, 2024.

However, National Police Commissioner General Fanie Masemola noted that extortionists are misusing the toll-free line to confuse SAPS about real cases.

Government officials have often echoed that SAPS is seeking an all-hands-on-deck approach to controlling the country’s worsening extortion crisis.

This includes working much closer with other entities and tightening some pieces of legislation, which Mchunu said is often lenient on criminals.

“Extortions [have] now reached levels where all communities in our country… have become very angry, bitter and agitated,” Mchunu recently said.

“Most are individuals who do not want to work but rather choose to parade as armies of murderous parasites that must be fought and rejected by society as a whole.

“They are often armed, operating in groups who instil fear and chaos [and] the relative silence of communities and low reporting is all due to these fears,” added the minister.

While extortion at some large construction projects and businesses often grabs the headlines, Mchunu said that SAPS is increasingly seeing “shocking incidents of the lowest levels of morality.”

This includes reports of church services, funerals, family-related events, pensioners, those receiving money from the Road Accident Fund and grants, healthcare facilities, and schools, among others, that are targeted by violent extortionists.

“Extortion is a rapidly escalating threat that affects every single layer of society in South Africa. It is deeply rooted and an issue that is jeopardising our economic stability and tears at the social fabric of every part of our country,” said the Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron.

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