President Cyril Ramaphosa Accuses John Steenhuisen of Politicising Crime Amid Calls to Bheki Cele’s Head

• President Cyril Ramaphosa has come to the defence of embattled Police Minister Bheki Cele
• Ramaphosa accused Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen of trying to politicise crime in SA by calling for Cele's removal from office
• The president claims that the police minister has put some hard work into curbing rampant crime in South Africa

CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken it upon himself to shield Police Minister Bheki from MPs calling for him to be fired.

The president was in Parliament answering questions when he defended Cele for his hard work.

Ramaphosa accused Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen of using South Africa's alarming crime rate as a political tool.

This is after Steenhuisen slammed Bheki Cele for failing to fulfil his responsibilities as police minister, as evidenced by the fact that over 82 people are killed daily, IOL reported.

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Ramaphosa told Steenhuisen that Cele is working hard to address rampant crime in the country and moving forward with getting more police boots on the ground.

Listing Cele's other projects, Ramaphosa added that the police minister had also called for the specialised units to fight gender-based violence, cash-in-transit heists, illegal mining and construction mafia.

President Ramaphosa slammed:

“I guess it is easy for the leader of the opposition to politicise the issue of crime in our country. In a way, it sounds like this is an electioneering type of speech."

Citizens hoped President Ramaphosa would axe Bheki Cele during the Cabinet reshuffle

Many citizens and opposition parties hoped South Africa would get a new police minister in the Cabinet reshuffle. There was even speculation that Cele would be moved to the helm of the State Security Agency.

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Ramaphosa seems to prefer having Cele in the police ministry despite mounting calls for the minister to be axed.

Before the reshuffle, Cele seemed unfazed about whether he would stay in the police ministry or be shuffled somewhere else, claiming he was not entitled to the police minister position, TimesLIVE reported.

South Africans react to Cyril Ramaphosa coming to Bheki Cele's defence

Here's what South Africans are saying:

Mulisa Shepard warned:

"Come 2024 he will wish he listened to the people who put him in power."

Sibusiso Wa Ka Tshungu said:

"Clearly loyalty matters more than competence for both of them."

Norman Hardwich slammed:

"Honour amongst thieves and such."

Kim Hoather Potter speculated

"Aaahh, Cele's got something on him."

Calls for Bheki Cele to be axed intensify as 200K sign Action Society petition for his removal from office

In a related story, Briefly News reported that South Africans have had enough of Police Minister Bheki Cele's inefficiencies in dealing with rampant crime in the country.

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Over 200 000 citizens have signed a petition calling for government to remove the police minister from his position after Cele survived President Cyril Ramaphosa's Cabinet reshuffle.

The petition, created by the civil rights organisation Action Society, calls Cele out for failing to implement strategies to curb and eradicate crime in SA.

Source: Briefly News