Gauteng turns tide on crime with high-tech surveillance and kingpin arrests, says Lesufi

By Thapelo Molefe

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has declared that the provincial government’s controversial heavy investment in surveillance technology and mass recruitment of crime wardens is yielding results, citing a double-digit decrease in murder rates and the arrest of over 100 criminal “kingpins.”

Delivering the 2026 State of the Province Address (SOPA), Lesufi struck a defiant tone against critics who had previously dismissed his crime-fighting strategies as political theatre.

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“When we introduced the three helicopters to fight crime in our province, our interventions were labelled gimmicks. When we declared that we would install almost 20,000 CCTVs, we were told it’s pie in the sky,” Lesufi told the legislature.

According to statistics released by the Premier, these technological interventions, combined with the deployment of nearly 10,000 young crime fighters (Nasi iSpani), have driven murder down by 11% year-on-year.