Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Roy Jankielsohn MPL and Sesotho soundbites by Jafta Mokoena MPL
– DA conveys condolences to the families and colleagues of four people who died in the Hennenman shooting
– Concern that there is a lack of support for SAPS officers
– DA calls for enhanced support to strengthen the effectiveness of the SAPS
The Democratic Alliance (DA) conveys our condolences to the families and colleagues of four people who died as a result of a shooting, one of whom is a police officer. On Sunday, 7 June 2026, a SAPS officer shot five people, killing three and injuring two in Hennenman, after which he shot himself.
The DA remains concerned about the lack of emotional support for SAPS members, while 3424 members do not meet the requirements to maintain firearm competency, and 221 members do not comply with legal training requirements. Competency should include psychological assessments in stressful jobs such as policing. The DA remains deeply concerned by statistics that 29 South African Police Service (SAPS) members in the Free State took their own lives between 2021 and 2025, mostly with service pistols. Hennenman has featured in many instances over a three-year period, with at least one suicide taking place at a Hennenman police station every year between 2021 and 2024. These shocking statistics were revealed in a reply to a DA question in the Free State Legislature by the MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport, Mr Jabu Mbalula, in 2025.
Oversight visits to SAPS stations and interactions with individual members of the SAPS indicate that they are working under very stressful conditions. Officers are expected to deliver results despite severely inadequate resources, such as vehicles, computers, printers, and basic equipment. They operate in dilapidated buildings that undermine professionalism and are often subjected to bullying and victimisation.
The stressful conditions officers face include:
- A lack of trauma management and psychological support.
- Lack of promotions and a poor outlook for career improvements.
- Stressful work environments and long hours.
- High case-loads with unreasonable pressure to perform detections and arrests. SAPS detectives, including specialised units, have average caseloads of 395 dockets per person, while the ideal number is 100 dockets per person.
- A violent and negative work environment, facing crime scenes, victims and criminals on a daily basis.
- Forced to act against community members with whom they share service delivery frustrations during protests.
The lack of ongoing training and support has limited the effectiveness of the SAPS to the extent that many law-abiding residents are losing trust in the SAPS to win the battle against crime. When police officers are not properly supported, trained and equipped to perform their duties, it is ultimately the public who become the victims. It is clear that urgent intervention is needed to restore dignity, support and professionalism to the SAPS, and to ensure that those tasked with protecting residents are not themselves left abandoned and broken by the system.