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.
