WATCH | Broken cells, vehicle shortages hamper Protea Glen police work

For nearly 10 years, the holding cells at Protea Glen police station have stood empty, neglected and decaying while officers travel 5km away daily to detain suspects.

The absence of functioning cells at the station means police officers who arrest suspects must first process them at the station before travelling to Moroka police station for their detention.

WATCH | These are the holding cells at Protea Glen police station in Soweto, which have been in this state for the past 10 years. As a result, the police station has had to ask other police stations to accommodate its detainees.Police officers who spoke to Sowetan expressed… pic.twitter.com/mZbVYAd1nq— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) September 16, 2026

Despite its proximity to the Protea magistrate’s court, the station, which caters for areas including Protea South, Protea North, Protea Glen and surrounding residential extensions, has no functional facilities for detention.

Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili confirmed that the cells have not been operational since 2016 because an inspection found them dilapidated and in breach of occupational health and safety requirements.

When Sowetan visited the police station after officers raised an alarm, we found a building in a state of disrepair, with damaged toilets, plumbing pipes lying on the floors, and leaky ceilings.

The state of poor infrastructure in some police stations in Gauteng was highlighted in parliament in March, where it was revealed that at least 36 police stations did not have cells that are in usable condition.

Muridili said the maintenance of the police station is within the mandate of the department of public works and infrastructure.

“The need for planned maintenance has been prioritised on the User Asset Management Plan,” Muridili said.

Speaking to Sowetan on condition of anonymity, frustrated officers in Protea Glen said the deteriorated state of the facility has placed an additional burden on them.

They now have to travel between the two stations regardless of the time of day, they said.

An inspection of the Protea Glen police station by Sowetan found a facility in a state of disrepair, with plumbing pipes lying on the floor, damaged toilets, toilet seats outside the holding cells and leaking ceilings. (Antonio Muchave) “Once a police station does not have holding cells, it puts more pressure on us as police officers,” said one police officer. “That is an additional workload because you have to go there and record the suspect.

Holding cells at the Protea Glen police station are dilapidated and have been out of service for 10 years. (Nandi Ntini) “You do your workload and report at Protea Glen and travel to Moroka police station to detain the suspect, whether it’s 11pm or 1am.”

The officers are adamant that functioning holding cells would reduce time and resources spent transporting suspects to another police station.

However, Muridili said the suspects from Protea Glen were not placing any strain on Moroka police as it has the capacity to accommodate all detainees. “When the cells are full, the neighbouring stations assist,” she said.

Another officer said the problems at Protea Glen station extend far beyond dilapidated holding cells. The officer said lack of security contributed to vandalism at the station. He said drug addicts in the community easily gain access to the back of the station to remove plumbing pipes.

“We have tried to [engage] with management, trying to find out what is causing the delays with repairs, when these will be fixed and who is meant to fix them. But it has been a huge blame game between the SAPS and the department of public works,” he said.

They said the station sometimes had only one vehicle available to respond to complaints across the Protea Glen precinct and neighbouring communities.

One officer said the shortage affected the police’s ability to respond proactively to crime. “Instead of rushing to respond to a housebreaking happening in Protea Glen, one car might be sitting at a murder scene. That means the car has to sit there for five hours,” the officer said.

“By the time they get to the housebreaking scene, they do reactive work instead of being proactive and getting the suspects.”

The officers said they were frustrated at being held responsible for poor performance while being forced to work with what they described as inadequate infrastructure and resources.

“With so much that is happening at our police station, we are told that we are underperforming and [people] complain about our performance. But no one is looking into the infrastructure that we are working under.”

Muridili did not want to disclose how many patrol vehicles the station had, saying this was “operational information” she could not divulge.

The officers added that the station’s generator has not been working for five years. As a result, the place is plunged into darkness during power outages, they said.

On Monday, Sowetan sent a media inquiry to public works department, which asked for 24 hours to respond. However, spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said he would only comment after receiving a response from the department of justice.

By deadline on Wednesday, public works’ comment had not arrived.