Opposition Parties Call for Bheki Cele to Be Axed As Latest Crime Stats Signify Failed Policing System

• The rising rate of crime in South Africa has spurred opposition parties to call for Police Minister Bheki Cele to be axed
• The latest quarterly crime stats show an alarming increase in crime, with murders going up by 10% in three months
• The DA says Cele has failed to use visible policing to fight crime, while the EFF claims the police minister lacks the competence to manage the SAPS

PRETORIA - Opposition parties have intensified their calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to give Police Minister Bheki Cele the boot over SA's crime statistics.

Cele presented the latest quarterly crime stats on Friday, 17 January, which showed an alarming increase in crime rates between October and December 2022.

Murder increased by 10%: KwaZulu-Natal leads the pack, followed by Gauteng and Eastern Cape

The statistics indicate the murders are at an alarming high, with 7 555 killings committed within the last three months of 2022, The Citizen reported.

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KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) recorded the most murders, with 1 821 people killed in the fourth quarter. Gauteng followed close behind with 1 721 recorded murders and the Eastern Cape, with 1 501 murders committed.

There were 1 198 recorded murders in the Western Cape and the remaining provinces recorded fewer than 500.

Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters slam Bheki Cele over SA's rising crime statistics

DA MP Andrew Whitfield said the crime stats indicated how management at the South African Police Services (SAPS) had utterly failed to strengthen crime intelligence and improve visible policing to prevent crime.

Whitfield demanded:

"It is time for Ramaphosa to drop Cele, appoint a capable minister and devolve policing powers to capable provincial and local governments to get the job done.”

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Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighter accused Cele of being in bed with criminal syndicates. The Red Berets leader claims that the police minister lacks the "intellectual depth" to develop crime-fighting strategies and the competence to manage SAPS, TimesLIVE reported.

South Africans slam Bheki Cele for SA's rising crime stats

South Africans also shared their dissatisfaction with Bheki Cele but believe Ramaphosa will protect him.

Below are some comments:

@SindaFab slammed:

"The personification of useless."

@Kathy57231586 criticised:

"Look at that arrogance! Strutting his stuff while SA USA mafia state! Perhaps the hat is a signal!"

@TheDailyDeep_66 asked:

"Why would they fire him? He has underperformed for countless years in every position he has held in the past."

Lewa La Thaba Noka claimed:

"Cele will not go. He protects Ramaphosa in KZN otherwise he won't get support from that province."

Mfundiso Cornelius Ngalwa speculated:

"This is not about the interest of the nation, it’s about who can protect the president's tenure."

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Former advocate Teffo implicates Bheki Cele in Senzo Meyiwa trial failure, Mzansi agrees: “Mafia state”

In another story, Briefly News reported that former advocate Malesela Teffo has opened a case against Police Minister Bheki Cele for defeating the ends of justice in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial.

The controversial lawyer claimed that Cele held a meeting in 2020 to compromise the high-profile court case. In the affidavit, Teffo alleged that the meeting in Cape Town took place from 20 November to 22 November 2020 at the parliamentary precinct.

He said his sources informed him that the meeting’s agenda was to deliberate about compromising the case proceedings. The former advocate claimed that accused number five, Sifiso Ntuli, agreed to plead guilty to Meyiwa’s murder, according to News24.

Source: Briefly News