Cele pays tribute to slain officers
POLICE Minister Bheki Cele has once again encouraged his officers to use their firearms when facing danger.
“We won’t give you a gun and you die with it. It can’t be right that we sit back and keep quiet. There must be blood, but it cannot be that of a police officer,” said Cele.
He spoke at a memorial service in Mitchells Plain paying tribute to the three officers killed this month.
Bellville South police station constable Lonwabo Kili, 30, was shot and killed in Delft, while Mowbray police officer Siyamcela Ncipa, 37, was shot twice in the head outside the residence of a friend in Site B, Khayelitsha.
Both their firearms were stolen during the incidents. Police officer Arthur Mantu’s charred remains were found inside his burnt vehicle in Site B, Khayelitsha on August 10.
“This situation of getting used to burying our members should come to an end. If you kill a police officer you must know your life will be difficult. I believe the killing of police officers goes beyond criminality, it is politically motivated,” said Cele.
He acknowledged that “we are on the bad side” when it comes to the UN’s standard of one police officer for every 220 people.
Cele was joined by national police commissioner Khehla Sitole and provincial commissioner Khombinkosi Jula.
Khayelitsha station commander Brigadier Mkuseli Nkwintshi, where Mantu worked, said he personally went to the scene not knowing it was Mantu’s body that was burnt. “This was a very young man who had a bright future ahead of him, not only in the police service but in the world. We saw potential in him and we placed him within the Crime Prevention Unit,” said Nkwintshi. He said Mantu’s dedication was proven when a police truck, carrying prisoners, overturned in April. Even though his partner had booked off sick, he came back to work within a few weeks.
Kili’s uncle, Mnonele Ngomane, told the mourners that his nephew was a family man.
He said being “the first suspect” when guns went missing at Bellville South police station did not deter him from excelling in his duties.
Ncipa’s uncle, Jongikhaya Ncipa, said the family “had lost a great leader”.
“He played a pivotal role to unite our family. The people of this country don’t appreciate the work of our police officers. They do cruel things to them, even killing them. People need to start changing their behaviour,” said Ncipa.
Police Minister Bheki Cele addressed mourners at a memorial service of three fallen officers held at New Apostolic Church in Mitchells Plain yesterday.