‘There’s no crime in developed nations’: Mbalula suggests ‘blue light brigades’ can’t be banned in SA

As debates continue following assault incident involving Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s police VIP protection unit, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has ruled against the banning of “blue light brigades”.

‘No crime there’

Delivering his keynote address at the Black Forum South Africa lecture on Thursday night, Mbalula acknowledged the public outcry over the incident and welcomed the suspension of the eight members part of Mashatile‘s VIP protection unit, pending a Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) probe.

“The police cannot brutally act like that within the state, I am happy that today those police have been suspended and they must account and that Ipid will investigate and make a determination,” he said.

Mbalula suggested that the blue light convoys cannot be banned due to safety reasons.

ALSO READ: ‘I am not okay’: Victim’s horror account of VIP blue light assault

“Nobody was engaging, trying to understand the role of VIP protection, and everybody says that must be done away with, is not important and then we are compared to other countries where there is no crime,” he said.

“Somebody compare the president of South Africa with the president of Finland [but] there is no crime there. The president can afford to go to work [using a] bicycle in Finland. The standard of living there is totally different from ours. We are compared, as a developing nation, with developed nations,” the ANC secretary-general added.

Watch Mbalula’s address below:

In a widely-circulated video, the police officers were seen allegedly assaulting three civilians travelling in a VW Polo on the N1 highway in Johannesburg over the weekend.

Mashatile’s office confirmed the officers, who travelled in two blacked-out BMW SUVs, were part of his protection detail, however, he was not in any of the vehicles at the time.

It was later revealed that the motorist and passengers attacked were South African National Defence Force (SANDF) trainees.

READ MORE: Ipid investigating VIP protection cops after vicious assault

Opposition parties have called for the officers to be fired, while some have called for the protection unit to be scrapped.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has signalled that it will embark on a campaign to end police brutality.

“The DA has and will continue to call for a reduction to the VIP protection budget to allow for minimum appropriate security for relevant officials and a review of the protocols and training relating to VIP protection; and ban blue lights and reckless driving from all VIP convoys,” the party said in a statement.

Blue lights regulations

According to the National Road Traffic Regulations, a blue light may only be fitted on vehicles operated by members of the South African Police Service (Saps), municipal police services, traffic officers and the SANDF military police.

Although blue light brigades containing the protection services of high placed politicians were allowed to disobey certain road rules, it must do so within reason.

Motorists on the road are obliged to give the right of way to a vehicle sounding a device or bell or displaying an identification light or siren.