Winde slammed for refusing to release report on gangsterism

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde addresses the Freight Forum on August 29, 2025.

The Cape Crime Crisis Coalition (4C) has accused Western Cape Premier Alan Winde of political hypocrisy for refusing to release a report on alleged links between police and gangs.

The organisation has given him until Friday to make the report public or face legal action.

The coalition says Winde is withholding information that could save lives, three years after the Western Cape Police Ombudsman submitted the findings.

He launched the investigation in 2022 after a High Court judgment pointed to gang infiltration in South African Police Service (SAPS) leadership but now insists, releasing the report would be irresponsible and could endanger officers named in the findings.

Crime Expert and 4C Member Dr Llewellyn MacMaster says, “What we are experiencing is even worse than three years ago when Judge (Daniel) Thulare made those remarks in his judgment and what is worrying of course is that I went back to listen to what the Premier said when he received the Ombudsman’s report.”

He says, “He committed himself actually to study the report further and to come back to the public actually, so it is now for us uncertain why the protection of law enforcement and SAPS members take precedence over protection of communities.”