Statement by Nicholas Gotsell MP – DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice:
The DA can confirm that 2 840 rape kits arrived in Cape Town on Monday, following sustained DA oversight and pressure after multiple police stations across the Western Cape were found to be without this critical forensic evidence tool.
While this delivery is a necessary intervention, it is only a temporary lifeline. All the kits delivered have expiry dates of April 2026, leaving the Western Cape with a narrow window before another potential shortage. This reality underscores why the DA has pushed for the urgent delivery of additional kits with later expiry dates and why proper planning and stock management remain non-negotiable.
This delivery came only after the DA exposed that numerous stations, particularly in rural and isolated areas, has no rape kits at all. Areas such as the Greater Karoo were reflected on the official certificate signed by Major General Jojo as having zero kits, a situation that remains deeply alarming and unexplained.
The DA reiterates its demand for full accountability for the inflation and misrepresentation of stock figures supplied by various offices. These inaccuracies mislead the public, delays corrective action and leaves vulnerable women and children without access to justice; it also betrayed them during the 16 Days of Activism.
As a next step, the DA will formally request that the Chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice schedule a full report-back in February, when Parliament resumes. Both the Western Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Patekile, and Major General Jojo must account to Parliament for the discrepancies in reporting, the failure to ensure equitable distribution, particularly to rural areas, and the systemic breakdown that led to this crisis.
The DA will closely monitor the distribution of the 2 840 kits and will hold National SAPS Supply Chain Management to account to ensure that additional kits with later expiry dates are delivered urgently, so that this temporary reprieve does not give way to another failure.
Rape survivors cannot be left at the mercy of poor planning, expired stock and misleading reporting. The DA will continue to expose these failures and fight to ensure that access to justice is guaranteed – regardless of geography or circumstance.
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