Bheki Cele Denies Crime Prevention Wardens Are His Department’s Responsibility, SA Weighs In
- Minister of Police Bheki Cele responded to the utterances Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi made against him
- Cele said that he does not believe that his ministry is responsible for ensuring that the Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens, called amaPanyaza, are given weapons
- Netizens slammed Cele for not having vision and not assisting the Panyaza in fighting crime
With eight years of experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insight into the criminal justice system and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.
Source: UGC
Police Minister Bheki Cele hit back against Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's statements against him. Cele pointed out that it's not the job of the Police Department to recognise the Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens. Experts felt that it was unsafe to arm the amaPanyaza as it would pose a risk to the public.
Panyaza Lesufi slams Cele
Panyaza Lesufi recently slammed Bheki Cele and accused him of not recognising the Crime Prevention Wardens' effort to fight crime. He further pointed out that Cele did not want to arm them with weapons and warned them that his days were numbered. He later apologised.
Cele responds to Lesufi
Cele responded to Lesufi's statements. According to SowetanLIVE, Cele said that it's not the job of the Ministry of Police to recognise them and believed that it is the duty of the Department of Justice and Correctional Services.
David Bruce from the Institute of Security Studies reacted to the Minister of Police's remarks and does not think arming the amaPanyaza is a good idea.
He pointed out that the issue of the wardens has not been thought out and their system has not been adequately managed or administered. He pointed out that giving them firearms would put the public at risk.
South Africans judge his statements
Netizens on Facebook weighed in on the debate between the two politicians.
Bongani Mgubela said:
“Seems to me there was no communication between the police department and the Gauteng provincial government before the crime prevention wardens were introduced.”
Rich Tom Mongwe wrote:
“He is clueless about his role as minister. He must direct Gauteng province to the lawmakers.”
Tukz Tebza pointed out:
“Bheki Cele is starting to act like Jackie Selebi.”
Ntsako lamchange Lepere exclaimed:
“Bheki Cele has always been the stumbling block to progress. Panyaza will have a hard time with development as long as there are people like Bheki with no leadership ability running things.”
Cele slams criminals for waging war on South Africans
In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Bheki Cele lamented how criminals declared war on South Africans.
This was after the transport minister, Sindiswe Chikunga, was robbed on the N3 towards Heidelberg. Criminals made off with their belongings and the minister was forced to lie on the ground.
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Cele said that the criminals in the country are becoming braver and netizens were upset that it had to take a minister being a victim of crime for Cele to sit up and take note.
Source: Briefly News
