An unannounced parliamentary oversight visit has confirmed a rape kit shortage. Western Cape law-makers say this poses a “major forensic crisis”. On 9 December 2025, Police Portfolio Committee chairperson Ian Cameron and National Council of Provinces member Nicholas Gotsell inspected the South African Police Service (SAPS) Provincial Supply Chain store in Epping. They found no D1 or D7 rape kits in stock for adults or children.
According to a parliamentary statement and a Weekend Argus report, the empty shelves confirmed earlier media claims. It was reported that more than 20 police stations had already run out of D1 kits. They were borrowing from neighbouring stations. Gotsell stressed that rape kits are central to collecting forensic evidence in sexual-offence cases. He warned that without them it becomes far harder to secure convictions.
SAPS Assurances Questioned and Supply Chain Probe
The rape kit shortage Western Cape representatives uncovered directly contradicts recent assurances from SAPS. They had claimed that supplies were adequate. SAPS Western Cape spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut told the Weekend Argus there was “a sufficient supply of sexual assault kits available throughout the Western Cape”. Also, he said that investigations into sexual offences were not being compromised.
Whistleblower accounts of widespread shortages, reports of expired kits – including up to 70 at one station – and the empty shelves at the Epping depot challenged that view. Gotsell cautioned that when evidence cannot be collected, “rapists walk free because the state failed to provide the most basic tools required to build a case”. Cameron, meanwhile, attributed the crisis to failures in the national SAPS supply chain. He said an urgent probe into alleged problems at the central supply chain office in Silverton, Pretoria, would follow.
SAPS Response and Whistleblower Concerns
In response to the Weekend Argus inquiry before the oversight visit, SAPS dismissed the reports of shortages as misinformation. They insisted that sexual-offences investigations were continuing without disruption. The parliamentary visit and confirmation of empty shelves have intensified pressure on SAPS. They need to explain the discrepancy.
Whistleblowers quoted by the newspaper accused SAPS management of “ducking and diving” on gaps in the fight against gender-based violence. They also alleged attempts to intimidate those who speak out. The rape kit shortage Western Cape MPs exposed has renewed calls for transparency. They also demand protection for whistleblowers and urgent action to restore full forensic capacity in the province.
