Pretoria: Ongoing police operations have led to the arrest of 13,633 suspects, including those involved in gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) related crimes in the past week, said the South African Police Service (SAPS).
According to South African Government News Agency, as part of a 90-day blitz to combat GBVF, police continue to intensify their fight against GBVF related crimes through investigation and numerous tracing operations, which resulted in the arrest of 256 rape suspects and seven suspects for attempted rape in the past week.
In a statement on Monday, the SAPS reported that the majority of the suspects were apprehended in KwaZulu-Natal. Among the arrests was a 50-year-old man in the Cape Town suburb of Brackenfell on multiple charges of sexual exploitation, grooming, and facilitating the creation of child pornography. The Free State Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) Unit traced the suspect to the Western Cape following an extensive investigation into cyber sexual offences against minors.
The SAPS emphasized its ongoing commitment to protecting children’s rights and ensuring justice for victims of sexual crimes. The Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit has been instrumental in securing harsher sentences against perpetrators of GBVF who committed crimes against vulnerable groups, especially children. Recently, a father of three was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of sexually assaulting his children, aged between 3 and 13 years. This conviction followed a report to the SAPS Benoni by the children’s mother in August 2021.
Furthermore, on 26 May 2025, the Edenburg Regional Court sentenced a 47-year-old pastor to two life terms of imprisonment after finding him guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl.
The SAPS also detailed arrests made through Operation Shanela from 26 May to 01 June 2025, including 2,214 wanted suspects for various serious and violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder, rape, and robberies. Specific arrests included 179 suspects for murder, 108 for attempted murder, 1,731 for assault grievous bodily harm (GBH), 201 drug dealers, and 1,430 for possession of drugs. Additionally, 101 suspects were arrested for illegal possession of firearms, 12 for human trafficking, and 472 drivers for drunken driving.
Under recoveries and confiscations, police reported seizing 142 firearms, 8,999 rounds of ammunition, and recovering 68 hijacked and stolen vehicles. Major operations included the seizure of counterfeit goods worth over R20 million in Burgersfort and the arrest of 22 undocumented foreign nationals in North West, along with the seizure of food items intended for illegal miners.