Publications
Partners
Five police officers were killed at a police station this week, presumably the place criminals should fear the most.
But not in a country where criminals have shown many times they have no fear for the police and public.
Police stations and army bases have, in the past, been attacked by criminals who want to lay their hands on the weapons kept by law enforcement agencies.
The attack this week in rural Engcobo, Eastern Cape, has sent shock waves across the country, leading to the police’s top brass declaring that they will not rest until the murderers are jailed.
Just last week criminals in Johannesburg brazenly attacked a police van transporting men accused of killing policemen in Gauteng and freed them.
By Friday morning, we woke to news that at least four people had been arrested.
Hours later, this changed to indicate that the four were only taken into custody for questioning.
Said provincial spokesperson Captain Khaya Tonjeni: “This is standard procedure during the process of any investigation.
"People will be questioned and this will not be done differently in this case.”
His statement contradicted Tonjeni’s boss, provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga, who told a family of one of the deceased that four men had been arrested.
The conflicting statements are not helping allay fears from the public that police are not on top of their game.
Instead of babbling on Twitter and making more outrageous statements, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula* needs to reassure citizens that the police are still credible and effective.
False bravado while criminals are running amok will not inspire confidence.
The public needs a police force that works and can assure them that they will be safe.
Late on Monday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he had removed Fikile Mbalula as police minister. He was replace by former police commissioner Bheki Cele.
Read: Ramaphosa rings in 26 new appointments, hints at more to come
