President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government will prioritise rooting out organised crime and dismantling gangs this year.
Efforts will include the tightening of gun laws and re-vetting of senior police officers and subjecting them to lifestyle audits. The measures, he said, would ensure accountability and integrity within the police force’s ranks.
“Organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development,” Ramaphosa said in his state of the nation address.
“Our primary focus this year is on stepping up the fight against organised crime and criminal syndicates. And we will do so using technology, intelligence and integrated law enforcement.”
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi held a highly charged media briefing in July 2025 in which he accused several senior police officers and minister Senzo Mchunu of ties to criminal syndicates.
Mchunu, who has been placed on special leave, denies wrongdoing.
Mkhwanazi’s claims spurred Ramaphosa to appoint the Madlanga commission to investigate allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system. An ad hoc parliamentary committee is holding separate hearings into the matter.
“We will tackle organised crime by consolidating intelligence at the national level, identifying priority syndicates and deploying handpicked, multidisciplinary intervention teams focused on dismantling criminal networks,” Ramaphosa said.
Business Day reported in September 2025 that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) had uncovered a web of corruption at Tembisa Hospital, where more than R2bn was looted by politically connected syndicates.
Rooting out gangs
Ramaphosa also spoke out against community violence, saying children in the Western Cape were often caught in the crossfire of gang wars, while people were chased out of their homes by illegal miners in Kagiso in Gauteng.
“To strengthen our fight against gang violence, I will be deploying the SANDF to support the police as we did to great effect with illegal mining,” he said.
“I have directed the minister of police and the SANDF to develop a technical plan on where our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining.
“At the same time, we are implementing an integrated strategy to address the root causes of crime through co-ordinated interventions across society ... we are going to tackle gun crime by streamlining legislation and regulations on licensing, possessing and trading in firearms and ammunition,” he said.
“We will increase enforcement of existing gun laws. We are putting more boots on the ground through the recruitment this year of 5,500 police officers, adding to the 20,000 new officers we announced previously in the Sona.”
Illicit goods targeted
The government was also addressing the threat posed by illegal counterfeit goods to SA jobs and industry, Ramaphosa said.
British American Tobacco (BAT) announced last month that the the proliferation of illegal cigarettes, which it said now accounts for 75% of the market, had prompted it to close its sole manufacturing plant in South Africa, a move that will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.
Ramaphosa said the government would set up “a national illicit economic disruption programme that brings together key state agencies and other stakeholders, including the private sector. Through the effective use of data analytics and AI, we will be targeting high-risk sectors like tobacco, fuel, alcohol and other counterfeit products.”
He said the government would not tolerate rampant corruption in the South African Police Service (SAPS) and some metro police departments as revelealed in testimony at the Madlanga commission and the ad hoc parliamentary committee.
“[T]he rule of law relies on a police service that is ethical and rooted in the communities that it serves. The SAPS has established a task team to ensure that investigations arising from the Madlanga commission are undertaken swiftly and without interference.”
Focus on SAPS and justice
Ramaphosa said the State Security Agency will re-vet the senior management of the SAPS and metro police departments, which will include lifestyle audits.
“As we have successfully done with previous commissions, we will use the recommendations of the Madlanga Commission to make far-reaching changes,” he said.
“We are determined that the commission’s findings and recommendations will lay the basis for a fundamental reform of our criminal justice system. We are confident that these efforts will succeed because the great majority of police officers are dedicated to upholding the law and diligently serving the people of South Africa.”
Drawing on the success of Operation Vulindlela in advancing economic reform, Ramaphosa said the government “will use a similar approach to establish a hard-hitting new criminal justice reform initiative”.
The initiative would crack down on organised crime, corruption and the illicit firearms trade using a dedicated team in the Presidency to ensure that reforms are implemented across the system.
“We are further intensifying the fight against corruption by strengthening bodies such as the Special Investigating Unit, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks,” Ramaphosa said.
“We will finalise the government’s approach to the recommendation of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council on the establishment of a permanent, independent, overarching anti-corruption body.
“We cannot accept that those who speak out against corruption are victimised and targeted. The Whistle-Blower Protection Bill will be introduced in Parliament. Among other things, this will criminalise retaliation and provide psychosocial, legal and financial support to whistle-blowers. And there will be a special focus on restructuring our procurement system with a view to ending corruption.”
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