Cape Town – The Public Protector has ruled that the establishment and deployment of Gauteng’s Crime Prevention Wardens (Amapanyaza) was unlawful, irregular, and unconstitutional.
In her report released on Wednesday, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka found that the Gauteng Department of Community Safety created and deployed the wardens without any legal framework, violating sections of the Constitution that prohibit provincial governments from exercising policing powers.
The findings came just hours after Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced that the popular unit would be withdrawn and repurposed.
He emphasised that the mandate remains to fight crime, not to engage in intergovernmental disputes.
[WATCH] Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says the provincial crime prevention wardens (Amapanyaza) will eventually be integrated into traffic officers and be absorbed into other departments. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/aj53PMrNZa
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) October 22, 2025
“I have to go to the public protector and explain why do we have wardens. I have to answer parliamentary questions on why we have wardens. I have to go to hospital to check wardens who are shot at because they are not protected because people don’t want to protect them,” EWN quoted Lesufi as saying.
The report also revealed that former Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko had sought to have the wardens designated as peace officers in 2023 but failed to provide a valid legal basis. A subsequent technical committee confirmed there was no legal authority for the wardens’ designation or deployment.
PUBLIC PROTECTOR SOUTH AFRICA RELEASES REPORT INTO ALLEGATIONS OF IRREGULAR ESTABLISHMENT, APPOINTMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF CRIME PREVENTION
WARDENS (CPW). pic.twitter.com/pOP5j74fWS— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) October 22, 2025
Gcaleka criticised the department’s actions for encroaching on national policing powers, echoing earlier warnings from KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who described the unit as “illegal.”
“The law neither empowers nor confers upon provincial government any authority to exercise policing powers.
“Any conduct that seeks to assume any power or function not granted by law or to perform functions or powers falling exclusively in another sphere of government shall be unlawful and unconstitutional.”
WATCH | Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka says the Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens, known as Amapanyaza, were established not in line with the applicable legislation. pic.twitter.com/dvU6ROMu6q
— SABC News (@SABCNews) October 22, 2025
As part of her remedial action, Gcaleka directed Lesufi and the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety to:
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Regularise the wardens’ appointment as traffic wardens under the National Road Traffic Act within 180 days.
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Enhance staff training and legal compliance within 60 days.
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Work with the police and justice ministers to ensure the wardens operate lawfully.
She stressed that these recommendations are binding and must be implemented fully and on time.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
