{"id":844179,"date":"2025-11-22T20:57:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T18:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=844179"},"modified":"2025-11-22T21:01:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:01:42","slug":"important-small-town-in-south-africa-in-a-state-of-anarchy-with-police-running-away-from-criminals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/844179\/important-small-town-in-south-africa-in-a-state-of-anarchy-with-police-running-away-from-criminals\/","title":{"rendered":"Important small town in South Africa in a state of anarchy with police running away from criminals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The High Court in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, has slated the SA Police Service (SAPS) for its continued failure to maintain law and order in the small town of Ngcobo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ngcobo is the main town of the Engcobo Local Municipality, which is part of the Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is situated along the R61 and is surrounded by the towns of Cofimvaba, Dutywa, Mthatha, Elliot and Cala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town has a rich history. The All Saints mission station was founded in the Xuka valley in 1859, and the town’s magistracy was later established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although both were temporarily burned down during the amaQwathi rebellion of 1879, the magistracy was re-established in 1881.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ngcobo played a significant role in the history of South Africa. It was the birthplace of former ANC president Alfred Bathini Xuma and ANC stalwart Walter Sisulu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other politicians, including  UDF stalwart Canon Mcebisi Xundu and Mondli Gungubele, also hail from Ngcobo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former President Nelson Mandela received his secondary education at the Clarkebury Boarding Institute in the town. His first wife, Evelyn Mase, also came from Ngcobo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area is known for its natural beauty, and it attracts visitors through its cultural offerings, which include cave paintings, forests, and traditional Xhosa communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite its cultural and political significance, Ngcobo has faced significant challenges in the new democratic South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These challenges include high poverty levels, infrastructure backlogs, crime, and issues in local governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a high dependency ratio, indicating that a large portion of the population relies on social grants, which highlights a lack of sufficient local economic opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a high incidence of gender-based violence in the community, a major social ill that requires targeted intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ngcobo is in a state of anarchy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Protest in Ngcobo in June 2025. Image credit: Groundup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira said Ngcobo is in a state of anarchy, with the police running away when facing taxi operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intercape is a prominent long-distance intercity coach company based in South Africa, operating an extensive network across several countries in Southern Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the bus company has been under attack from taxi operators in the Eastern Cape. The SA Police have failed to stem the violence against the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intercape brought an urgent application to compel the police to act against the perpetrators and protect the bus service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the ruling, the High Court in Makhanda blasted the South African Police Service (SAPS) for its continued failure to maintain law and order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intercape has accused police officers in Ngcobo of running away in the face of violence and intimidation by local taxi operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their failure to maintain law and order in the region means it leaves members of the public to fend for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting Judge Brody said it must be impressed on the police that they must comply with this order, as there appears to be a state of anarchy in the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brody added that it is unthinkable that Intercape must continue to come back to court to force the SAPS to comply with its constitutional and statutory obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intercape has warned that Ngcobo is in \u201ca precarious and dangerous position, where one small incident could ignite serious violence, disorder and public harm\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company further warned that this could spread to other towns in the region in which the company operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation is especially volatile due to the upcoming festive season, which is typically the busiest time for long-distance bus companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CEO calls for removal of SAPS leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Intercape CEO stated that the courts have issued a series of damning rulings against the police and the ministers of police and transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same goes for their provincial counterparts. However, the violence and intimidation against Intercape continue unchecked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe now have the ridiculous sight of members of the police running away from their own police station when confronted by members of the local taxi industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSouth Africa is being overrun and run by criminals, as we have seen with the current Madlanga Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ferreira called for the removal of the top leadership of the South African police, to be replaced by capable, efficient and courageous members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the new leadership should be committed to upholding the law and drawing a line in the sand against criminality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2025, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police expressed concern about the low arrest figures for perpetrators of attacks and extortion against his company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, Intercape has opened over 200 cases with the police, ranging from murder and attempted murder to intimidation and extortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite these cases and the numerous court rulings, not much action has been taken by the SAPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ian Cameron, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police, raised serious concerns about the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt remains concerning that of the 300 cases reported between Golden Arrow and Intercape, no arrest has been made by the police,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe arrest and prosecution of perpetrators is the only logical deterrence against such cowardly acts,\u201d Ferreira added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Protests in Ngcobo, courtesy of GroundUp<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The High Court in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, has slated the SA Police Service (SAPS) for its continued failure to maintain law and order in a small town in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":844184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[24204,24206,24207,18622,24203,24201,20678,22549,22831,24205,24202],"class_list":["post-844179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-chris-hani-district-municipality","tag-cofimvaba","tag-dutywa","tag-eastern-cape","tag-engcobo-local-municipality","tag-high-court-in-makhanda","tag-ian-cameron","tag-intercape","tag-johann-ferreira","tag-mthatha","tag-sa-police-service-saps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844179"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":844264,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844179\/revisions\/844264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}