South African Police Union Calls Out Bheki Cele for Linking Tattoos to Gangsterism, Plans to Challenge SAPS

• Minister of Police Bheki Cele is on the receiving end of criticism following his recent comments on tattoos and gangerstrim
• The South African Police Union says Cele's comments were merely a means to distract from the real issues about bad leadership in the police service
• Some South Africans feel that Cele should be forgiven because he is an old man with old-school views, while others say he should retire

JOHANNESBURG - Police Minister Bheki Cele has received some backlash from the South African Police Union (Sapu) for a comment he made earlier this week about people who have tattoos.

Cele made his comment while he was visiting the Nomzamo informal settlement in Soweto, Johannesburg where at least 16 people were gunned down at a tavern over the weekend.

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Cele stated that the South African Police Service refrains from hiring people with tattoos because they tend to be gangsters, reports TimesLIVE.

“When you have a tattoo, we don’t hire you because you have a tendency of being a gangster,” said Cele.

In a radio interview on 702, Sapu spokesperson Lesiba Thobakgale stated that Cele's comment about tattoos was another example of the lack of leadership and mismanagement in the police service.

He indicated that SAPS has a rule for police officers which stipulates that they are not allowed visible tattoos when wearing their summer uniform. Thobakgale added that having a tattoo is not an indicator of whether a person is a gangster or not.

He added that there are gangsters who do not have tattoos. He went on to say that the union will be challenging SAPS rules on tattoos because they are discriminatory toward people who have tattoos.

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Thobakgale further stated that by bringing up tattoos in relation to gangsterism, Cele was merely diverting from the main issue of the lack of policing and criminality in South Africa.

South Africans react to Bheki Cele's comments

@Keeisang12 said:

"He is old school. Forgive Cele for that comment. I was angry at him during lockdown but I was getting breakfast at one hotel and was next to him. He is a human and old school."

@blessing90000 said:

"That's what you get when you keep around folks who should have retired five years ago. The man has run out of content."

@Mphora10 said:

"I can't stand this man. I wish I could block and delete "

@XMboxo said:

"He is old and you know what happens when someone is old as him, he should retire."

Bheki Cele’s “shut up” tantrum gets remixed into vibey track by the Kiffness

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Briefly News previously reported that Police Minister Bheki Cele threw a little tantrum, which has now been doing its rounds on social media and caught the attention of The Kiffness. As the man does best, he turned it into a vibey track for the people of Mzansi to groove to.

Cele made it clear in his rant that being called a garden boy is an insult to him, and this set the people of Mzansi off as many of their male family members work in gardens.

The Kiffness took to his TikTok page to share the remix, highlighting the heaviest parts of Cele’s temper tantrum, claiming this is a prime example of what is wrong with our government.

Source: Briefly News