South Africa’s police service is once again under the spotlight after a string of shocking arrests of officers accused of violent crimes — including murder. Civil society and crime experts warn that the growing pattern of police criminality is eroding public trust in law enforcement and deepening the country’s broader crime crisis.
Mpumalanga Officers Face Murder Charges
On Tuesday, the Evander Magistrates’ Court postponed the case against three Mpumalanga constables accused of the brutal killing of a motorist.
Constables Simangele Shabangu (34), Musa Hlanze (33), and Lucky Mahlangu (34) of the Embalenhle SAPS face charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice.
According to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), the officers responded to a multi-vehicle crash on the R546 between Embalenhle and Evander in the early hours of 17 August 2025. One of the motorists involved allegedly fled the scene. The officers gave chase, arrested him, and allegedly assaulted him. The man sustained severe head injuries and died in hospital days later.
The three constables were arrested on 25 August after an IPID investigation and made their first court appearance on Tuesday. They will remain in custody until their bail hearing on Thursday, 28 August.
Gauteng Lieutenant Colonel Denied Bail
In a separate case, Lieutenant Colonel Martin Wayne Ellapen (56) was denied bail by the Lenasia Magistrates’ Court. He is accused of shooting dead his brother-in-law, Ansley Jordaan, on 8 August 2025 during a heated family argument.
IPID investigators allege that Ellapen drew his personal firearm and shot Jordaan twice after a quarrel escalated. Jordaan collapsed in the street and was declared dead at the scene. Ellapen was arrested on the same day and remains in custody pending further investigation. His case was postponed to 20 October 2025.
Crime Experts: “Trust in SAPS at Breaking Point”
The arrests have renewed public debate about criminality within the South African Police Service (SAPS).
An independent policing expert, said cases like these feed the perception that communities are “at the mercy of both criminals and police.”
“When those tasked with protecting the public become perpetrators themselves, it destroys confidence in policing. Without public trust, effective law enforcement is impossible,” said the expert.
Arrested, Yet Still in Uniform
Statistics reveal the depth of the crisis. According to parliamentary replies and watchdog reports: Since 2019, more than 5,400 SAPS members have been arrested for crimes ranging from rape, murder, robbery, and assault. Alarmingly, nearly 4,000 of them remain employed in the police service despite their criminal records. IPID investigations have historically struggled to yield convictions. Research by the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF) found only 1.7% of cases led to criminal convictions, and just 4.3% resulted in disciplinary sanctions.
This disconnect, analysts say, explains why criminal behaviour persists within the ranks.
Civil Society Demands Action
The South African Union Council of Independent Churches (SAUCIC) strongly condemned the Embalenhle case and called for a clean-up of SAPS.
SAUCIC President Cardinal Archbishop Dr Modiri Patrick Shole said: “The cancer of corruption and organised crime within SAPS must be eradicated if communities are to trust policing again. You cannot run with the hares and hunt with the hounds.”
Shole urged the Acting Minister of Police, Professor Firoz Cachalia, and SAPS leadership to urgently stabilise provincial management and enforce discipline.
“Nothing short of a major purge of criminal syndicates within SAPS will restore integrity,” he said.
Violence Epidemic Worsens
These scandals come against the backdrop of South Africa’s relentless violence epidemic. The country recorded nearly 27,000 murders last year — one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Gender-based violence remains rampant, with over 5,500 women and 1,600 children killed in 2024.
As crime surges, communities increasingly rely on private security companies, further exposing the credibility gap between SAPS and the citizens it is meant to serve.
A Force in Crisis
For ordinary South Africans, the stories of police turned criminals cut deep. Many feel trapped between violent crime on one hand and an unreliable police service on the other.
Until accountability improves and criminal elements are rooted out of SAPS, experts and community leaders warn that the line between protector and predator will remain dangerously blurred.
