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Police Minister Bheki Cele says investigating officers have met with Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams over her contravention of the lockdown regulations.
Ndabeni-Abrahams got into hot water this week after a picture of her having lunch with former deputy education minister Mduduzi Manana at his home went viral.
Ndabeni-Abrahams admitted that she had broken the regulations and publicly apologised after she was summoned by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who docked her a month’s salary and put her on two months’ special leave.
On Friday, Cele, accompanied by Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale, national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole and his provincial counterpart, Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga, visited the town of Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape to monitor whether lockdown regulations were being adhered to in the province.
After he had addressed police and soldiers at the Ngcobo traffic department, Cele, wearing his trademark hat, told members of the media that the issue of Ndabeni-Abrahams was receiving police attention.
The minister dismissed suggestion that his Cabinet colleague was getting preferential treatment.
“The president has taken a decision with the minister of communications and also instructed the law enforcement agencies to work on the matter. I can tell you that the processes have been there and that the investigating officers have met the minister and are taking the matter forward.
“I know that they have also spoken to the Public Protector and the matter is being taken forward. The law has been taking its course, no matter who you are,” Cele said.
He added that, to flatten the curve and slow the spread of the virus, everyone needed to respect the rules of the lockdown. If they failed to do so, police should “push” them to obey the rule of law.
“People should not go around gallivanting all over the place. This is not a holiday,” he said.
The minister said the lockdown was what stood between the survival of the human race and its complete annihilation.
He said South Africans should not think they were immune to what was happening in other countries around the world, such as the US, Spain and Italy.
“It is important that we protect ourselves and avoid that ugly picture. These things that we think are far from us, we are not immune to them. It is on that score that it is important that you enforce the law. The law says you shall not gallivant, going up and down. The law says there should be no social contact and that one must maintain social distance,” he said.
If the country missed this opportunity to defeat Covid-19, it would have to live with the dire consequences because there was no vaccine or cure for it, Cele said.
He also said that the police needed to deal with those who did not want to adhere to the regulations.
“They have been spoken to. We will speak to them and those who do not listen – we will help them to hear us. When police find people in the streets, they should remind them that they need to be at home. If they don’t listen, push them back to their homes,” he said.
Cele told police that he knew that these were difficult times for officers. Earlier, Sitole had revealed that at least 12 police officers had been infected with the virus.
Cele urged police to take care of themselves: “We know that society is calling you names. They say you are brutal. The people I think are brutal are those who are breaking the law. They are the brutal ones because they intentionally break the law, going around looking for alcohol and not washing their hands.”
He said he was concerned that people were not adhering to the rules – at least 17 000 people have been arrested for not adhering to the lockdown regulations.
Cele called on police to fight hard against any form of anarchy. He also thanked the police for the good job they had done so far and asked them to remain within the law while executing their responsibilities.
“I hear there is a complaint that police, together with soldiers, are frog-marching people. Now, I don’t think there is anyone who can be frog-marched in his bedroom. Where were you when you were frog-marched?
“Police and soldiers are being blamed while the people who are breaking the law are not being criticised. I have not seen a police officer or soldier going to people’s homes saying they must frog-march. I see only people being frog-marched to their homes,” he said.
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