IPID records 116 rape cases involving police officers in 2025/26 - IOL
IPID recorded 332 gender-based violence and femicide cases involving police officers in 2025/26.
Civil society organisations have expressed deep concern over the latest gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) statistics from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), pointing to the alarming involvement of law enforcement officers in perpetrating violence.
At least 72 of the cases of rape being investigated were allegedly perpetrated by police while on duty.
This comes days after suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya was arrested and faces several charges, including alleged possession of a firearm, rape, human trafficking, and the sexual grooming of a child, after allegedly raping an 18-year-old at a Sandton hotel on May 16, 2026.
Recently, Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia reported that 50 511 GBVF cases were reported to the South African Police Service during the 2025/2026 financial year, with 30 736 resulting in arrests or referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority.
IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping said that on Wednesday, Cachalia tabled the directorate’s 2025/26 annual report in the National Assembly.
She said that in 2025/2026, IPID registered 5 259 cases, and 332 of those were GBVF cases; 122 cases were referrals, which were mainly domestic violence, while 116 were acts of rape by a police officer, 58 were assault and torture, 24 murders and 10 cases of the discharge of an official firearm.
“In terms of GBVF, KwaZulu-Natal registered the most cases, 60, followed by Gauteng with 58, the Free State with 52 and the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape with 27 cases each,” Suping said.
“The top 6 police stations in cases of GBVF were Kimberley in the Northern Cape and Mariannhill in KZN with seven cases each, followed by Madadeni in KZN with six cases and Phoenix in KZN, Humewood in the Eastern Cape and Welkom in the Free State with five cases each.”
Suping said that IPID noted an increase in rape cases by a police officer, with 116 cases registered in 2025/2026, compared to 95 cases in 2024/2025.
“Of the 116 rape cases registered, 44 acts of rape were committed by off-duty police officers while 72 by on-duty officers,” Suping said.
However, during the reporting period, IPID secured 84 criminal convictions of various crimes. Sentences ranged from a few months to life imprisonment.
“Of the 84 convictions secured, 26 were GBVF-related cases,” Suping said.
GBVF Response Fund non-executive board member and the fund’s Advocacy, Behaviour Change and Communications (ABC) Committee chair, Dot Field, said the statistics are deeply concerning and highlight the broader challenges South Africa faces in ensuring GBVF cases are effectively investigated and prosecuted.
“It is particularly troubling that police officers are allegedly perpetrators in a significant number of the cases recorded. This is completely unacceptable,” Field said.
“The figures also reinforce the need for swift and effective investigation and prosecution.”
Field explained that the figures include only reported cases, meaning the true scale of violence against women and girls is likely far greater and highlighting issues with GBVF data reliability. The fund and civil society organisations consistently call for current, detailed crime statistics on women and children.
“The urgent priority now is to strengthen the quality of investigations, restore trust in the police, improve case tracking and data systems, and ensure that those responsible for GBVF are held accountable,” Field said.
Vanessa Samuel-Chetty of the National Dialogue Steering Committee (GBVF Sector), highlighted that the figures may not truly reflect actual cases.
“I do believe that there are many more cases that would have needed the IPID to actually step in because of many reasons. One is corruption,” Samuel-Chetty said.
She also expressed disappointment over the conviction rate, saying there was an expectation of far more convictions especially when this was investigated by IPID.
“With regard to cases against police officers, from a strategy perspective, it means that there’s no space that is safe.” Samuel-Chetty said.
