Pretoria: The South African Police Service (SAPS) continues to record notable progress made in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). During the month of September 2025, the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Units arrested a total of 2,320 suspects nationwide for crimes including rape, sexual assault, abduction, attempted rape, and other related offences.
According to South African Police Service, the highest number of arrests were recorded in the Western Cape with 536 arrests, followed by Gauteng with 459, and KwaZulu-Natal with 360. In the same period, 46 sexual offenders were sentenced to life imprisonment, while 35 others received sentences of 20 years or more for various sexual offences.
More recently, police in KwaZulu-Natal arrested a 36-year-old suspect in KwaDukuza on 09 October 2025, in connection with a series of rape and robbery cases reported between 2013 and 2016 in KwaDukuza, Mandeni, and Tongaat. There are currently 176 FCS units across the country, supported by Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation (SECI) units at both national and provincial levels.
Recent notable convictions include a case in Gauteng where the Pretoria North Magistrates’ Court sentenced a 34-year-old man to three life terms for multiple charges of rape, sexual assault, and exposing minors to pornographic material. In the Northern Cape, on 16 October 2025, the Northern Cape High Court sentenced 43-year-old Johannes Mouton to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, 38-year-old Sanna Basson, during a domestic violence incident on 22 November 2024.
In the Free State, the Ladybrand Regional Court sentenced a 25-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping two minors, aged 11 and 13, in February 2022 at Manyatseng near Ladybrand. Meanwhile, in Mpumalanga, on 14 October 2025, the Boschfontein Regional Court sentenced a 35-year-old Mozambican national to 25 years’ imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old child, his neighbour’s daughter, in Hectorspruit near Malelane.
These recent successes underscore SAPS’s unwavering dedication and commitment to safeguarding women, children, and other vulnerable groups within communities. Each arrest and each conviction marks a step closer to a safer South Africa for all.