Provincial commissioner launches new anti-crime drive
Operation would focus on having a greater police presence on the ground
Provincial police commissioner LieutenantGeneral Nomthetheleli Mene has warned criminals in the Eastern Cape that their time is up.
She has also promised to deploy more “foot soldiers” to fight crime.
Mene, who completed her first 100 days in office on March 21, was speaking during the official launch of Operation Sikhona (We are present and here for you) in Lusikisiki on Friday.
She said the initiative was the police’s response to crime in the province and would drive all provincial operations, programmes and activities for the next five years.
However, she said, to be successful, the initiative needed the support of everyone, including businesses, ordinary citizens and other stakeholders.
“The operation embodies the work of the SAPS in collaboration with the private sector, the community, community policing forum structures, civil society organisations, traditional leaders and religious formations to protect communities through various police interventions,” she said.
“The operation needs to be impact-driven through the fiveyear plan and should build confidence in the citizens of the Eastern Cape and visitors on the police’s ability to serve and protect.”
She said the new operation would focus on having a greater police presence on the ground and cultivating sustainable and strong relationships with other law enforcement agencies.
“I urge all stakeholders, including the media, to support this vision because it represents our identity as the Eastern Cape and the results will not be felt by the community but criminals will migrate to other places outside of our borders because Sikhonathina, we are here.”
Mene said after taking office one of her top priorities had been to crack the murders at Ezingqolweni village, which had earned the name “village of death”.
The Dispatch reported earlier this year that at least six people had been arrested in connection with the murders of several elderly people in the village.
Mene said they had obtained confessions from the suspects.
She said she had chosen to launch Operation Sikhona in Lusikisiki because it was one of the crime hotspots in the province and featured in the top 30 worst police stations in the country.
In February, police minister BhekiCele said Lusikisiki police station had recorded the country’s highest number of reported rapes and sexual offences between October and December last year.
The Dispatch reported that the station saw 104 sexual offences and 92 rapes reported during the period, up from 77 and 71 in the same period in 2020/2021.
Mene said the new operation would focus on addressing shortages in personnel and that at least 900 recruits, including reservists, had been taken for training which would be concluded in December.
Police would also be trained in crime scene management.
Ingquza Hill municipality mayor Ntombenkosi Pepping told Mene that the residents of Lusikisiki, particularly women, were gripped by fear due to rampant crime in the area.
She later told the Dispatch on the sidelines of the event that the situation had a negative impact on the economic development of the area as no investors would want to come and invest in an area plagued by criminal elements.
Contralesa provincial chair Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana said a few years ago they had jointly launched traditional policing in partnership with the provincial government and had committed to partner with the police in fighting crime.
At the time they had been promised that satellite police stations would be established in all royal houses. But that had not yet happened.