Police Minister Bheki Cele Encourages SAPS Members to Fight Fire With Fire

• The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, said that when members of the South African Police Service are under attack, they must fight back
• He spoke after nine suspects were killed in a shootout between them and the police in Mariannhill, KwaZulu-Natal, on 3 April
• Cele also said that the police in Durban should work more on crime prevention than reacting to crime

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered police investigations and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years. Do you have a hard news story you would like to share? Email tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.

MARIANNHILL – The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, admitted that the South African Police Service should work more on preventing crime than reacting to it. He also said officers should respond in kind when they are under fire from criminals.

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Cele speaks following shooting

Cele’s words came the day he visited Mariannhill in KwaZulu-Natal, where nine suspects were gunned down in a shootout with the men and women in blue. The suspects were accused of terrorising the community and committing violent crimes like murder, house robberies and rape.

According to eNCA, Cele stated that police officers should not put their lives on the line by surrendering when faced with gunfire. He also said the force lost too many police officers while on duty. He said that when they deal with suspects who are hard-core criminals, they must deal with them in a way that befits the criminals. Cele also admitted that the police in Durban should work harder to stop crimes from happening and not react to crime.

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“Police are not trigger-happy,” he said.

Netizens unhappy with Cele

South Africans commenting on @eNCA’s tweet expressed their dissatisfaction with Bheki Cele.

Quintessential Politics said:

“So he suddenly remembers he has a job a month before elections.”

Untle “T-Money” said:

“This one must go and never come back.”

Kevin Long said:

“Easy to talk when sitting at home doing absolutely nothing.”

DD said:

“Yes, Minister Useless, who goes about at crime scenes just for show.”

Rasenga Maswanganyi said:

“Crime in South Africa is a pandemic, a painful reality we are all faced with, and it’s a matter of time before we are all victims.”

SA unsympathetic to family members of dead suspects

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that the South African public was unsympathetic to the family members of the nine suspects who were killed.

A video of some relatives breaking down at the crime scene went viral, and netizens were unmoved. Some suggested that if the relatives gained from crime, they should be arrested.

Source: Briefly News