DA condemns Gauteng’s failure to tackle rising gang violence as new figures shock

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has denounced what it sees as the Gauteng government’s inability to stop the province’s growing gang problem. According to recently disclosed data, organised crime groups have killed 258 people in the last four years while strengthening their hold on vulnerable communities and enlisting minors. This comes after Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi responded to written questions from the DA in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL), laying bare the scale of gangsterism across the province and exposing the growing grip organised criminal networks have on several communities.

Lesufi’s response shows that between the 2022/23 and 2025/26 financial years, Gauteng recorded 678 violent crimes linked to gangsterism, including 258 murders, 408 attempted murders and 12 assaults. During the same period, police registered 979 gangsterism-related cases, underscoring how deeply entrenched criminal gangs have become. The bloodiest period was the 2023/24 financial year, when the province recorded 83 gang-related murders and 165 attempted murders.

The premier also identified Sophiatown, Westbury, Eldorado Park, Langlaagte, Riverlea, Reiger Park, Booysens, Chrisville, Bella Vista, Moffatview, South Hills and Mohlakeng in Toekomsrus as Gauteng’s primary gang strongholds, where residents continue to live under the constant threat of violence and young people remain vulnerable to recruitment by criminal organisations. DA Gauteng spokesperson for Community Safety Michael Sun acknowledged police efforts after officers arrested 641 suspects linked to gangsterism and seized 189 illegal firearms over the past four years. However, he warned that the sharp rise in firearms confiscated from just 14 in 2022/23 to 77 in 2025/26 points to increasingly well-armed criminal gangs and a worsening threat to public safety. “While the disclosure that the police made 641 gang-related arrests and confiscated 189 illegal firearms over the past four years is commendable, the sharp increase in firearms seized from 14 in 2022/23 to 77 in 2025/26 highlights the growing firepower available to criminal gangs in Gauteng and the escalating threat they pose to communities.”