Grieving family hail ‘cop like no other’
Detective goes the extra mile at sad time
AHARARE, Khayelitsha detective has been hailed for his sterling work and kindness shown when assisting a bereaved family who lost two children in a shack fire in the Enkanini informal settlement earlier this month.
The Mbutho family expressed their gratitude for Detective Eugene Bathandwa Kutwana’s assistance during their time of bereavement. They buried two cousins, aged 8 and 11, last Saturday and said their load had been lightened by Kutwana’s help.
The aunt of the pair, Nikiwe Mbutho, said: “We were not aware of what was needed and still very shocked by the loss of the children. The detective helped explain the whole process of DNA identification to us.
“He would come early in the morning and offer us a lift to the morgue, checking in on how we were doing and how funeral arrangements were going.
“We can’t express our gratitude enough. We have never encountered such interaction from police, especially in this day and age we live in. He certainly is a good officer and we pray he continues to assist others with the same humility.”
Mbutho said that unlike some police officers, Kutwana had worked tirelessly, assisting and counselling the family, and offered his transport services and guidance in getting through the necessary paperwork, including death certificates and funeral policies.
Labour lawyer Michael Bagraim said officers like Kutwana showed that SAPS officials do their work in a humane manner despite the difficulties they often face. “Kutwana went beyond the call of duty and arranged to assist the family. He escorted the family to Home Affairs, and even contacted the local councillor and arranged for a trauma counsellor to assist the family.
“Officer Kutwana should have his praises sung throughout South Africa for the enormous good deeds he did over that devastating weekend,” said Bagraim.
Kutwana, who has worked as a detective for 13 years, said that as a parent, the Mbutho family’s loss touched him, and he wanted to ensure they did not have the added pain of having to run after police or the mortuary when dealing with the loss.
“Seeing that woman lose her kids the way it happened… it was not about me but about that woman and her family, and making sure she doesn’t feel the same pain running after the police or mortuary.
“When people see cops these days, they’ve really lost trust. I believe there are good cops out there doing their job to the best of their ability, but people fail to see the good things we’re doing,” said Kutwana.
Provincial police spokesperson Elna de Beer said the service was proud of Kutwana. She said he was working according to instruction and procedure and was an asset to the service.
OPEN letter to Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. Minister Cele, over a long period of time, gangsterism has been a huge problem on the Cape Flats. I’m sure you’re aware of this.
Our people who have elected you and I into public office, are living in constant fear with the shooting and activity related to gangsterism. Our people are sick and tired of it.
Over the past few years we have seen an escalation of this shooting in our areas and more recently in Bonteheuwel.
We have seen a lot of machismo and bravado from various police ministers, especially your predecessor. This is never matched with delivery. We see gimmicks like big media launches with extra policing staff temporarily working on some operations, but this never lasts.
The vast majority of police stations are badly under-resourced with only about 70% – 80% of their policing staff posts filled. These police stations with the least staff and highest officer-topublic ratio have the worst crime stats – every year. The police stations with the lowest crime stats have the most police per resident.
Bonteheuwel with a population of about 65 000 people does not have its own police station. We have a satellite station that only signs affidavits and is of no service to the community.
Due to the lack of police officers and a lack of equipment including weapons, vehicles among other things, our people are suffering. Our police service in Bonteheuwel have become a reactive service rather than a proactive service.
Gang violence is out of control and contributes to many of the murders in these most crime-riddled areas. So why would the minister close down the specialised gang unit?
The only intelligence we get on gang activity is from residents who fear sharing information.
This, Minister Cele, is not correct and it is not what we have fought for in the quest for freedom.
What my community is asking of you through me, is that you will protect us and that you will ensure our safety – that you will give us the policing resources you owe us.
We are asking you to make sure that our children can once again play outside. That people can freely walk to school and work. That our people will, at the very least, feel safe.
This is enshrined in our constitution – it is our right.
We request from you the following: return of the specialised gang units, proper resources for police, and more police officers are urgently put on the street.
We need you to investigate gangs and pro-actively ensure that problems don’t exist or happen by convicting those that are guilty of murder, rape, armed robbery, assault and attempted murder.
Minister we are both public servants. My community is begging for help. Let us forego our political ideology and rather focus on ensuring our people are safe.
Yours in the service of our people.