By Hope Ntanzi.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that criminals who target police officers are attacking the integrity of the State, the rule of law and the constitutional order, as South Africa honoured 12 fallen SAPS members in Pretoria on Sunday.
Speaking at the annual SAPS National Commemoration Day at the Union Buildings, Ramaphosa said the officers who died in the line of duty during the 2025/26 financial year should not be remembered as statistics.
“When criminals target a police officer, they are attacking the integrity of the State, the rule of law and the constitutional order,” Ramaphosa said.
“They are not just attacking an individual. They are attacking the people of South Africa.”
Nine of the 12 officers were from Gauteng, while North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga each recorded one death.
Ramaphosa highlights circumstances of deaths
Ramaphosa said the circumstances surrounding the deaths were concerning, with several members killed while crewing the same shift, responding to business robbery complaints or transporting awaiting-trial prisoners.
Others died while conducting routine crime prevention and patrol duties in their own precincts.
The youngest officer remembered was 25.
“A nation reveals its character not only in how it remembers those who serve it, but in what it does to protect those who serve,” Ramaphosa said.
He said police safety was a responsibility shared by government, law enforcement and communities, and called for communities to report threats, protect information and reject criminality.
Police deaths have declined
Ramaphosa said there had been a significant decline in the number of police members killed in the line of duty over the past few years.
He attributed the decline to operational interventions, police safety initiatives, community partnerships and cooperation between government and the private sector.
“But even one life lost is one too many,” he said.
The SAPS has implemented a Police Safety Action Plan called “Think First – Act Safe: Every Call, Every Time”, covering governance, police safety interventions, station infrastructure, support, monitoring and evaluation.
Ramaphosa said policing alone could not solve the threat facing police officers. Communities must become part of the protective architecture around our police.”
SAPS under scrutiny
Ramaphosa also addressed the scrutiny facing SAPS following revelations emerging from the Judicial Commission of Inquiry.
He said the revelations had raised legitimate questions about policing, leadership, accountability and institutional integrity.
“At this moment, the SAPS is operating under unprecedented public scrutiny,” Ramaphosa said.
“This must not result in paralysis. Instead, it must be a catalyst for renewal.”
He said the police service needed to remain focused on preventing crime, combating criminality, protecting communities and keeping South Africans safe.
“The best response to scrutiny is not defensiveness. It is performance,” Ramaphosa said.
“The best response to criticism is not denialism. It is professional conduct, measurable results and safer communities.”
Cachalia calls for continued support
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said the commemoration was about remembering the officers who left their homes to serve the country and did not return.
“Today is not really about speeches. It is about people. It is about the men and women who left their homes to serve their country and who, during the past financial year, did not return,” Cachalia said.
He said the government’s responsibility to the families of fallen officers did not end with their funerals.
“Our commitment must continue in the practical support we provide- in benefits, counselling, welfare and, importantly, in the education of their children,” Cachalia said.
Cachalia also praised the South African Police Service Education Trust for helping provide educational opportunities to children of fallen officers.
“Education is one of the most meaningful ways we can do this. By helping to secure educational opportunities for the children of our members, the Trust provides not only financial assistance, but hope, dignity and the possibility of a better future,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the country owed the fallen officers a safer country, their families sustained support and police officers the systems, leadership, protection and resources needed to keep them safe.
“We owe the fallen a safer country. We owe their families sustained support and opportunity,” he said.
“And may we build a South Africa in which those who protect our people are themselves protected-by government and by the communities they serve.”