Crime stats: calls for Cele’s head
POLITICAL parties and civil society groups alike are calling for Police Minister Bheki Cele to be fired with immediate effect amid shocking statistics on the increased crime rate in South Africa.
On Friday, the crime statistics revealed that in just the three-month period between October and December, 7 555 people were murdered with 7 016 cases of attempted murder.
“Out of the 7 555 people murdered, 3 144 were killed with a firearm, and 2 498 with knives, sharp and blunt instruments, bricks, and in many cases bare hands,” Cele said.
Gun violence posed a serious threat to lives and livelihoods, he said. “With the analysis of the current and previous statistics, it is evident that firearms are only part of a bigger problem. At the core of the matter is human behaviour.”
Cele said the SAPS would continue to intensify operations to detect and confiscate illegal firearms and ammunition, while a legislative intervention – an amendment to the Firearms Control Act to address the availability of guns in communities – was under way.
Cope said it was extremely concerned about the levels of crime and lawlessness. “It seems only President Ramaphosa does not see that his police minister, Cele, is incompetent and not suitable to lead that portfolio. He has completely failed the country,” said Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem.
“People are being shot dead as if South Africa is a war zone. Nobody is safe – not even in one’s home. The country will never win the battle against crime as long as Cele is police minister.”
Bloem said Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola – a trained professional police officer – had been turned into Cele’s bodyguard. “That bullish behaviour of Cele will render all police commissioners useless. Cele is interfering with the duties and responsibilities of the national commissioner.”
Bloem said the situation needed urgent intervention from Ramaphosa. “Cope calls on the president to put the interests of the country above the interests of his comrades and fire Cele.”
The EFF said Minister Cele lacks the intellectual depth required to think through crime-fighting strategies and basic operational SAPS competency.
“Masemola is not any better, and his appointment was merely payback for the role he played in helping Ramaphosa conceal his Phala Phala crimes.”
EFF national spokesperson, Sinawo Thambo, said the only immediate solution to the fear that has captured South Africa owing to violent crime was the immediate resignation of Ramaphosa.
“South Africa is a nation at war with itself, because criminality goes unpunished at the very top leadership. President Ramaphosa is a money-laundering criminal, and our police force is factionalised and corrupted by a minister who is in bed with criminals,” said Thambo.
Blessed Gwala, chief whip in KZN of the IFP, said the stats were a reflection that communities and police were not working together. Police alone cannot combat crime in communities not supportive towards them nor showing that they wanted to help in curbing crime.
“Communities know people who could be or are involved in dodgy things. But they would not offer assistance to the police even when asked to. How are police supposed to fight crime with no information? People cannot cry ‘crime’ while not willing to fight against it.”
Police ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said Cele served at the behest of the president, who had the power to hire and fire him. Many interventions had been put in place by the SAPS under Cele’s tenure to deal with crime. “So the calls for Minister Cele to step down because of ‘no action’ are unfortunate and plainly unfounded.”
Kwazulu-natal violence monitor Mary de Haas said the crime stats were very alarming but not unexpected.
De Haas said the Crime Intelligence was failing, utterly, to fulfil its constitutional mandate to prevent crime.
It lacked incorruptible officers with good informer networks, to identify criminal activities and stop them through proactive policing, she said.
A crime expert from IRS Forensic Investigations, Chad Thomas, said the SAPS was in disarray. “organised crime can only thrive when there is a disorganised police force; part of the problem is top leadership and allocation of budget.
“Just 2% of the police budget is allocated to the Hawks, meant to investigate priority crimes, whereas more than 3% of the police budget is allocated to VIP protection. The minister wants to increase the numbers of visible police officers, yet the numbers of qualified detectives are dwindling. If the Hawks and SAPS detectives are fully capacitated, there will be far more prosecutable cases in ourts, and then criminals will learn about consequences, which could lead to a reduction in crime,” Thomas said. He said criminality would thrive when there were few to no convictions.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya was not available to comment on calls for Ramaphosa to fire Cele.