Police Minister Bheki Cele Warns Police Officers Not to Turn Away Victims of Gender Based-Violence

• The Minister of Police Bheki Cele has asked police officers to stop turning away women who are victims of gender-based violence
• Cele was speaking at an Imbizo for men in the Khayelitsha township in Cape Town when he made these remarks
• Some South Africans think that Cele only cares about such cases because he is campaigning for the ruling party

CAPE TOWN - Minister of Police Bheki Cele has called on police officers to stop asking women who are victims of gender-based violence (GBV) to work through their issues with the abusers.

Cele made these remarks while visiting the Khayelitsha township in Cape Town as part of an Imbizo YaMadoda, a programme geared toward dealing with GBV in South Africa.

Speaking at the engagement, Cele stated that when women got to police stations to report their abuse, and should not be told to negotiate with their abusers. The police minister also added that they should be helped, according to SowetanLIVE.

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"Don’t tell her to go, please help that woman. You are her last hope. Management, deal with young police who abuse our women further by turning them away. They are supposed to take the statement and go arrest that person," said Cele.

Cele called on men to actively participate in the fight against GBV and even noted that any kind of man can be responsible for such grievous harm to women and children.

The police minister added that the police are responsible for protecting victims of crime, especially children and women, reports eNCA.

Here's a clip from the Imbizo:

Here's what South Africans had to say:

@Domdeli said:

"Yes, Minister Useless "

@Magdalene2490 said:

"Now that ANC is in electioneering mode, now Cele can suddenly remember what cops' duties are. Wonder if he bought a bigger hat so his brain can breathe"

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@Mandlanyembe1 said:

"Some Police like to act like advisors."

Police Minister Bheki Cele says foreign nationals are not the major cause of crime in SA, it's South Africans

Briefly News previously reported that Bheki Cele recently noted that South Africans are to blame for the country's high rise in crime rates. The Police Minister said over half a million South Africans occupy the country's 243 prisons as opposed to only 18 000 foreign nationals.

Cele made these sentiments during the Council of Mayors' conference on Thursday. According to News24, the Minister said the crime stats in the country gives him sleepless nights. Per the publication, Cele said immigrants are not a problem but his fellow citizens who are occupying the prisons in large numbers.

"Foreign nationals are not a problem. It's South Africans. They are in prison in large numbers, which means they do things they are not supposed to do," said Cele.

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Source: Briefly News