An urgent oversight visit has laid bare a Western Cape rape kit shortage. This shortage jeopardises rape prosecutions and fails survivors. On Tuesday, an unannounced inspection of the SAPS supply store in Epping found zero D1 and D7 rape kits in stock for adults or children.
Oversight Visit Finds Empty Shelves
Police Portfolio Committee chairperson Ian Cameron and NCOP member Nicholas Gotsell led the surprise visit after concerns about shortages in the province. Inside the Epping depot, they found shelves that should hold Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits. Yet, every space stood empty.
The Western Cape rape kit shortage has hit police stations across the province. More than 20 stations have run out of D1 kits. Some officers borrow from neighbouring stations just to process rape cases. At some Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units, kits have expired. This has left dozens unusable at a single station.
This reality clashes with earlier assurances that there was a sufficient supply of sexual assault kits. It seemed that investigations would not be affected.
National Supply Chain Under Fire
Cameron links the crisis to failures in the national supply chain. The Western Cape depot falls under National SAPS Supply Chain Management in Silverton, Pretoria. Provincial SAPS submitted a formal requisition for kits on 14 November, yet no new stock has arrived.
Gotsell says this is not a minor delay. Instead, it is negligence that undermines criminal cases. Without rape kits, detectives cannot collect forensic evidence. Thus, convictions become harder in a country that already battles low sexual offence conviction rates.
Survivors and Detectives Left Exposed
The discovery comes as the country ends the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, which makes the failure even more painful for survivors. In response, Cameron calls the situation shameful and pushes for an urgent probe into the national supply chain.
Gotsell warns that the Western Cape rape kit shortage demoralises specialised detectives. It also retraumatises victims who step forward expecting a proper investigation. Until SAPS restores consistent stock at every station, survivors who report rape will continue to carry the cost of a broken system.
