Cape Town — South African Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola, has elevated Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi’s crime prevention wardens, AmaPanyaza, to the same legal status as Gauteng provincial traffic officers.
According to Lamola’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, the minister’s decision to change the legal status of the wardens comes after talks with the government’s security cluster, Justice reported in a statement.
“After conducting a thorough analysis of the applicable legal frameworks, it was determined that for the Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens to exercise peace officer powers, they must assume the same legal status as Gauteng Provincial traffic officers,” Phiri explained.
Statement on Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens
12 December 2023https://t.co/YBrTP384ya pic.twitter.com/VVHhm05Hln— Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services 🇿🇦 (@Min_JCS) December 12, 2023
According to IOL, Phiri revealed that despite their legal designation as traffic officers, they could still fight crime as law enforcement officers but they did not have the same power capacity when compared with the South African Police Services (SAPS).
The crime prevention officers received three months of training at a farm in Cullinan, but made headlines for the wrong reasons after they crashed over 20 BMW vehicles they were assigned.
The Gauteng Government had written to Lamola in June, seeking the minister to designate the Crime Prevention Wardens as peace officers outlined in section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977. Phiri said Lamola had been in talks with Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Police Minister Bheki Cele over the issue.
“The government is determined to take every possible measure to prevent crime and safeguard the well-being of our neighbourhoods,” he said.
The Justice Department has revealed that Gauteng Crime Prevention wardens will assume the same legal status as the provincial traffic police. Maverick Citizen Editor Mark Heywood says this means they now have full policing powers.
Watch: https://t.co/gVLxhH1TFP pic.twitter.com/ppYRCxH7HV
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) December 12, 2023
According to The Citizen, Lamola emphasised that this decision is part of the government’s commitment to preventing crime in the province. Lesufi also welcomed the move and it reiterated his assertions that AmaPanyazas have always been legal.
“We welcome this announcement that finally clarifies the uncertainty over the status of the Crime Prevention Wardens. This announcement affirms what we have said all along, that the Crime Prevention Wardens are a legal, well-equipped provincial law enforcement body that collaborates with other law enforcement organisations in the province. They operate under the supervision of the other law enforcement agencies i.e Gauteng Traffic and local authorities,” said Lesufi.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
