‘DYING SQUAD’: Flying Squad’s wings clipped — no wheels for Nelson Mandela Bay rapid response cops

A parliamentary oversight visit to Nelson Mandela Bay’s specialised policing units uncovered a dire lack of resources and how that was hampering law enforcement efforts across the city.Among these units, the Flying Squad – the police’s elite rapid response team – was found to be without high performance vehicles, rendering them ineffective in their core function, and morale among these members was at an all time low.That was in November 2025. Nine months have passed since then, and rather than seeing an improvement the situation has become exponentially worse.Within the halls of the Flying Squad and other police precincts, they have unofficially been redubbed the “Dying Squad”.Members of the Flying Squad in Nelson Mandela Bay have tried to work with other police units to assist with law enforcement operations, but have been told by their superiors to ‘stay in their lane’ and not act outside their mandate. (Photo: DA Eastern Cape) “Back in November we had no high performance vehicles, but we had at least one single cab bakkie. Since then the vehicle situation has become even worse. We would have a car for three or four days before it breaks down and we sit with nothing.“For the past four months we have had no reliable vehicles,” a member of the Flying Squad said.“We want nothing more than to do our jobs, but without vehicles that is impossible. We try to work with other units and stations, but then we are told: stay in your lane.“Other SAPS members are looking at us like we are useless, like we want to just sit at the office and get paid to do nothing, but nothing could be further from the truth. One of our members the other day said he does not even feel like ironing his uniform any more. Pride and morale have never been lower.”In their official comment, the police acknowledged the “concerns” about the NMB Flying Squad, but said they could not share any information on the matter as it could “negatively affect the effectiveness of policing operations”.During the November oversight visit, led by the chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, Flying Squad management indicated that the unit had seven vehicles on its books. This included two vehicles allocated solely to the provincial Accident Response Unit, leaving them with three BMWs, a double-cab bakkie and a single-cab bakkie. At the time, only the single-cab bakkie was operational. Currently, no vehicles are operational. DA mayoral candidate Retief Odendaal and DA MP Yusuf Cassim accompanied Ian Cameron on his visit to Nelson Mandela Bay’s Flying Squad. (Photo: Riaan Marais) Flying Squad members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Daily Maverick that following Cameron’s visit, a VW Golf GTI had been brought in from Humansdorp, but had spent very little time on the road due to a series of mechanical issues.“When that Golf came here it was already f****d up. Earlier this month it came back from the garage after faulty brakes were replaced. We had it for four days when our unit was involved in a high-speed chase. Going around a sharp corner, the brakes did not operate properly and the vehicle hit the pavement. It went back to the garage.“We later found out they had replaced the brakes with cheap imported parts, not of the standard that the job requires.”The members explained that the Flying Squad put “hard miles” on their vehicles, saying 150,000km on one of their vehicles was comparable to 700,000 to 800,000km on civilian cars.Their regular patrols consisted of about 300km each day, and many more should a high speed chase take place.“To operate effectively, we need high performance vehicles with at least a 2-litre engine. But a few years ago, when members were complaining, we were sent a Ford Icon, a family sedan, just to keep us quiet. It was laughable.”In recent months, several members have chosen to operate from specific stations, or work with other specialised units, like K9, just so that they could catch a ride to help with law enforcement.However, according to these members, they were admonished and told not to operate outside of their mandate.“We were told we would not be eligible to claim for injuries on duty because we were deviating from our standard procedures. Red tape nonsense. All we want to do is work, but we are being forced to sit on our asses.”In the past, some members have resorted to using their own vehicles or paying out of their own pockets for minor repairs and replacement parts on official vehicles, but they are no longer willing to keep that up.These members have reached out to Cameron for a follow-up visit or progress report after we raised their concerns with police management.Last month, Cameron posted a statement on social media, confirming that he had received information about the worsening conditions at the Flying Squad in NMB. He stated at the time that the unit’s one double-cab bakkie was the only operational vehicle, which is no longer the case.National Assembly Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan) “The Flying Squad, once the backbone of rapid response in the metro, is now barely functioning, operating with only one vehicle for a city of more than 1.2 million people.“Members who should be out responding to violent crime cannot be deployed because there are simply not enough operational vehicles. In fact, many of these members are now on foot beat.”Cameron said this meant that crimes that required a rapid response, like armed robberies, hijackings and cash-in-transit heists, could not be attended to effectively, leaving the entire metro vulnerable.“This is not the fault of the members serving in that unit. They continue to report for duty despite being let down by those responsible for ensuring they have the basic tools to do their jobs,” Cameron said.After the oversight visit in November, Cameron said the police had had the opportunity to acknowledge and address these issues, but rather chose to deny their shortcomings.He was referring to former NMB district police commissioner Vuyisile Ncata’s comments that Cameron’s visit and subsequent comments were selective and not a true reflection of policing in the metro.After Cameron’s visit, Ncata conceded to Daily Maverick that dysfunctional vehicles and delays at the police garages were a challenge, but said the oversight visit ignored the bigger picture of law enforcement across the metro and that certain categories of crime had decreased significantly.He added that the Nelson Mandela Bay district received 28 new vehicles at the launch of the police’s festive season operations in 2025, and that some of those vehicles would be allocated to specialised units.The Flying Squad received none of these vehicles. According to the members, besides the well-worn Golf GTI from Humansdorp, the last time they received a vehicle was in 2023, and that was the now defunct single-cab bakkie.Ncata has since taken up the position of Eastern Cape provincial police commissioner. Eastern Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Vuyisile Ncata. (Photo: Andisa Bonani) In response to questions about the vehicle shortage at the NMB Flying Squad, provincial police spokesperson Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said the police acknowledged concerns raised around the availability of vehicles at the Flying Squad.“SAPS continuously monitors its fleet requirements and implements measures to ensure that available resources are utilised effectively to support policing and the safety of communities. Vehicle allocation and deployment are managed operationally in line with policing priorities, crime patterns and the needs of communities.“However, the SAPS is unable to disclose specific details relating to vehicle availability as providing such information could compromise the safety of police members and negatively affect the effectiveness of policing operations,” Mawisa said.She said the police were committed to ensuring that members received the necessary resources to perform their duties while exploring ways to address resource challenges and maintaining effective service delivery to the public. DM