{"id":48826,"date":"2026-01-31T14:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=48826"},"modified":"2026-01-31T14:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:33:15","slug":"concerns-linger-amapanyaza-training-declared-peace-officers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/01\/31\/concerns-linger-amapanyaza-training-declared-peace-officers\/","title":{"rendered":"Concerns still linger about Amapanyaza training after they\u2019re declared peace officers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>The Amapanyaza are now allowed to assist the police in their law enforcement operations<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Gauteng\u2019s Crime Prevention Wardens, also known as AmaPanyaza, were officially declared peace officers on Friday. But not everyone is pleased.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-amapanyaza-declared-peace-officers\"><strong>AmaPanyaza declared peace officers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The announcement that the AmaPanyaza can now assist the police in their operations was made by Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi\u00a0on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>It comes after Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka in October found the deployment of the Crime Prevention Wardens to be unlawful.<\/p>\n<p>The Public Protector found that the Gauteng government was in breach of the Constitution when it established, recruited and deployed the AmaPanyaza.<\/p>\n<p>KZN police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi also told Parliament in October that the unit was illegal and that he had advised against its formation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: Gauteng government defends Amapanyaza after Mkhwanazi said they were illegal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi also faced criticism for his role in spearheading the deployment of the wardens.<\/p>\n<p>Kubayi said those concerns have now been addressed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernment wishes to inform the public and those individuals affected by this uncertainty that remedial action by the public protector have been acted upon. And following the gazette by [the] minister, peace officers will now fulfil their responsibilities,\u201d said Kubayi.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-da-and-outa-still-concerned\"><strong>DA and Outa still concerned<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>However, there are still concerns about whether the Amapanyaza officers are properly trained to take part in law enforcement operations.<\/p>\n<p>The DA said on Saturday that it is seeking legal opinion on the declaration of AmaPanyaza as peace officers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis announcement raises serious questions about the processes followed in deciding to confer peace officer status on Amapanyaza. This is particularly concerning given that the Premier Panyaza Lesufi-led government has repeatedly cut corners in its attempts to legalise the appointment of the wardens,\u201d said the DA\u2019s Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga.<\/p>\n<p>He raised doubts about whether the Amapanyaza wardens had received the necessary training.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the one hand, the government claims to have collaborated to address legal deficiencies and align the programme with the legislative framework, announcing that more than 9 000 wardens are set to be declared peace officers. On the other hand, it was also stated that these same wardens are still undergoing a second phase of training to enable them to fulfil their designated roles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: \u2018I\u2019m going to die with you\u2019: Lesufi assures AmaPanyaza he won\u2019t abandon them<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Stephanie Fick, the executive director of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), also told the SABC that she had questions about whether AmaPanyaza are needed to prevent crime in Gauteng.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe question is, is this particular idea of the premier the thing that we need in communities, and this is where I have question marks. So, it\u2019s good that they have now put the procedure in place to make them more legitimate, given them some powers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have read in the government gazette that they can arrest if an offence is committed in their presence. But then, I\u2019m worried if they are unable to do what they\u2019re supposed to do, whether it\u2019s age, whether it\u2019s training \u2013 training is so very important. So, then the question remains \u2013 why did we go down this road?\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lesufi-denies-he-s-electioneering\"><strong>Lesufi denies he\u2019s electioneering<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The DA has also accused Lesufi of using the AmaPanyaza to gain support with voters.<\/p>\n<p>Lesufi denied this on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho does not know that Gauteng has crime? So, we must fold our arms and say, because we\u2019ll be criticised, don\u2019t put additional resources. And that is why I say many people make a mistake to think the intervention was about this recruitment only.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI spoke about 250 cars every year that we give to the police, so that each and every police station can be well equipped. Why am I not accused of electioneering that? I said we have handed over three helicopters because law enforcement in Gauteng didn\u2019t have helicopters, and when they have to respond to cash-in-transit heists speedily, they don\u2019t have that capacity. Why am I not accused of electioneering?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: Five crime prevention wardens shot during patrol in Daveyton<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Concerns #linger #Amapanyaza #training #theyre #declared #peace #officers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Amapanyaza are now allowed to assist the police in their law enforcement operations Gauteng\u2019s Crime Prevention Wardens, also known&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48826"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48828,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48826\/revisions\/48828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}