Cele must order real changes to deal with the criminals

It’s no wonder our politicians need bodyguards and convoys of cars to protect them – at least if the reception Police Minister Bheki Cele got in Soweto on Wednesday is anything to go by.

The hat-wearing top cop felt the heat of community anger as he made his appearance, following the killing earlier this week of a South African, Kgomotso Diale, during a protest by the Operation Dudula movement in Soweto.

The organisation was moving against theft of electricity cables and illegal connections – allegedly involving foreigners – when there was shooting.

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The community is angry – and it made this plain to Cele – that policing in their area is almost nonexistent and that the cable thefts happen almost daily, with cables being ripped out as soon as they are replaced.

The spectre of rising crime – and the alleged involvement of foreigners in it (a perception taking root, fuelled by the activism of populist politicians and groups like Operation Dudula) – is a fuse for an explosion of more xenophobic violence and counterviolence which has already been lit.

Cele must do more than pose for the cameras, protected by his security detail. He must order real changes and deal with the criminals, no matter their origin.