The South African Police Service (SAPS) has admitted it does not maintain a record of civil matters where legal counsel advised settlement on the merits, but where such advice was ultimately ignored. This lack of record-keeping has raised serious concerns over legal oversight, accountability, and the escalating cost to taxpayers in civil litigation.
No Database on Ignored Legal Advice
In response to a parliamentary question from Chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu confirmed SAPS does not track the number of cases where legal advice was provided in favour of settlement but not followed. Further, SAPS does it record eventual cost implications of such decisions, including cases where the police later lost or settled at a higher cost. This absence of basic data management obscures the extent of potential legal missteps and their financial burden.
No Disciplinary Action for Legal Failures
The SAPS also reported that it has not initiated any disciplinary proceedings against legal or departmental officials for ignoring counsel, delaying court processes, or engaging in litigation that resulted in adverse cost orders, citing that legal advice is only one factor in decision-making. The organisation argued that each matter is weighed on its own merits in coordination with other departments such as the National Prosecuting Authority.
This admission comes despite cases such as Booysen and Others v Minister of Police, which exposed procedural delays and questionable litigation strategies on the part of state actors.
Wasteful Litigation Costs Top R30 Million
Over the past five financial years, SAPS recorded 1,003 incidents of litigation-related fruitless and wasteful expenditure, amounting to R30,152,881.78. The breakdown by year is as follows:
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2021/2022: 827 incidents, R15.7 million
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2022/2023: 81 incidents, R219,149
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2023/2024: 54 incidents, R7.1 million
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2024/2025: 41 incidents, R7.06 million
Despite these substantial losses, SAPS has provided no evidence that any officials were held personally liable or disciplined under Section 45 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), which explicitly requires accounting officers to prevent wasteful expenditure.
Minimal Recovery of Civil Claim Costs
While SAPS did pursue limited cost recovery, the figures reveal a stark disparity. Between 2021 and 2024, only R501,854.17 was recovered across 35 civil claims:
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2021/2022: R53,430.07 (12 claims)
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2022/2023: R84,723.52 (13 claims)
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2023/2024: R363,700.58 (10 claims)
This represents less than 2% of the total litigation-related waste recorded in the same period.
No Systematic Tracking of Misconduct Cases
On whether SAPS keeps a record of court judgments or settlement agreements where police officials were found to have acted mala fides (in bad faith) or beyond the scope of their duties, the reply was non-committal. SAPS failed to disclose how many such cases have occurred since 2021, or in how many instances recovery efforts were made against responsible individuals.
