Cele salutes police for their discipline at Nkandla

Police Minister Bheki Cele has saluted the police force for how they handled the Nkandla situation at the weekend.

Cele said the police showed bravery in dealing with scores of people who had vowed to form a human shield to prevent the arrest of the former head of state Jacob Zuma.

‘Balance’ upheld at Nkandla

He said there needed to be a balance between saving lives and preventing the worst-case scenario while ensuring the Constitutional Court order to arrest Zuma was carried out.

“Maj-Gen Zulu was inside the homestead where he was doing what was supposed to done including negotiating with the family and the former president himself to make sure that it doesn’t reach the point where enforcement would be the only thing,” Cele said.

“Enforcement has to be weighed, as the Constitution says, together with the safety of the inhabitants of the land. We had to balance these two.”

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Police criticised

Police came under scrutiny from the public and were accused of failing to prevent a “super-spreader” event at Nkandla.

Cele said the police were ready to enforce the arrest, despite the scores of supporters who had vowed to die for Zuma.

“We were ready to implement, as I have said. We were not going to defy the ConCourt decision, otherwise that would create anarchy and chaos in the country when the law enforcement agencies don’t listen to the law of the land.”

Cele had said that arrests would be made for non-compliance with the Disaster Management Act and defiance of the Covid-19 regulations outside Zuma’s Nkandla home.

There was a public uproar over the gatherings at Nkandla, which many people said defied the adjusted Level 4 lockdown regulations while the police who were present did nothing.

Under Level 4, all gatherings – including political, social or religious – have been prohibited as potential super-spreader events.