PRETORIA, Gauteng — The number of South African police officers killed in the line of duty has seen a reported decrease, but the South African Police Union (SAPU) warns that the overall toll remains unacceptably high, with a significant and often overlooked surge in off-duty assassinations.
During the SAPS national commemoration day held at the police memorial site near the union buildings in Pretoria, tribute was paid to the 12 officers who lost their lives in the line of duty during the financial year between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026. The President and SAPS leadership also remembered the families left behind, urging citizens to stop glorifying criminality and to work collaboratively to dismantle the conditions that fuel violent crime.
However, while the official number of officers killed on duty has dropped from 39 to 27, SAPU emphasizes that “one is too many.”
Jabulani Mabena, Deputy National Spokesperson for SAPU, highlighted a disturbing trend: a vast majority of officers are actually being killed while off duty. In the last quarter alone, 17 officers were killed—six on duty and 11 off duty.
According to Mabena, the line between on-duty and off-duty deaths is often blurred. He noted that in 90% of off-duty killings, investigations reveal the officers were targeted or ambushed as a direct follow-up to their police work. “The police is on duty 24/7 to really make sure that you protect the cohabitants of the republic,” Mabena explained, stressing that off-duty officers are still being targeted for their profession.
Hesitation in Lethal Force and Legal Protections
A major point of contention raised by SAPU is the hesitation among officers to use lethal force when facing armed criminals. Mabena pointed to Section 49 of the Constitution and national instructions regarding the use of force, which dictate that officers must use force proportional to the threat.
However, the union argues that the current administrative and legal framework leaves officers vulnerable. Under current national instructions, officers who shoot a suspect are subjected to lengthy administrative and criminal processes, sometimes leading to arrest and court appearances. Mabena argued that this lack of state protection causes fatal hesitation in split-second life-or-death scenarios, with some officers losing their lives because their colleagues were afraid to discharge their weapons to save them.
SAPU is calling on politicians to tighten the laws, suggesting that the murder of a police officer should be treated with the same severity as treason.
Criticism of Leadership and Policy Shortcomings
The union also took aim at recent policy documents, specifically a “reset” agenda introduced by the acting minister of police and the acting national commissioner. Mabena criticized the document for failing to include actionable strategies for preventing the killing of police officers both on and off duty.
Furthermore, SAPU called for the stabilization of the South African Police Service, expressing concern over the prolonged reliance on “acting” leadership positions. The union urged the President to allow formal processes to conclude and called for the swift return of a permanent National Police Commissioner to provide decisive leadership.
Support for Fallen Officers’ Families
Despite the systemic challenges, the SAPS trust continues to provide crucial support to the families of fallen officers. Mabena noted that the trust has helped send approximately 2,200 children of deceased officers through school and university.
Recently, the financial benefit for families of officers killed on duty was increased to 300,000. However, SAPU is advocating for investigations into off-duty deaths to ensure that officers killed as a direct result of their police work receive the same financial protection and benefits for their families as those killed while officially on the clock.
As the commemoration day concluded, SAPU reiterated that while the nation honors the fallen, the focus must now shift to tangible systemic changes to ensure that tomorrow does not bring more names to the memorial wall.
