Cele, Sitole work hard to clear SAPS of criminals

Police Minister Bheki Cele may sound like a radical rabble-rouser and trigger-happy man, but a minister like that is what SA needs if it is to reduce its high crime levels.

If we had a soft minister, we would also complain and criticise him for that. As long as he works within the law and respects human rights, let Cele do his work. As minister he has proven that under his leadership, even members of the SA Police Service (SAPS) will face the full might of the law when they act contrary to the same law and order they are supposed to maintain.

Some of us were encouraged by the arrests of very senior police officers between 4 June and 16 June for fraud, corruption, money laundering and defeating the ends of justice, among others. The arrest of 16 people – including high-ranking officers at the level of brigadiers and colonels – along with underworld kingpins on allegations of fraud and corruption in Pretoria and, also, in Kempton Park, is indicative of decay at the core of the SAPS.

The information from police headquarters referred to alleged wheeling and dealing at the Central Firearm Registry (CFR) where forging of licences occurred. Edenvale and Norwood in Gauteng seemed to be the epicentres of these activities.

The work of the national Anti-Gang Unit in the Western Cape under the leadership of Major-General Andre Lincoln resulted in the arrest of at least 16 of the 21 suspects, including a female brigadier, four lieutenant-colonels and a host of middle to junior level officers.

After an almost three-year investigation of these fraudulent activities, Lincoln and his team, together with the Gauteng Provincial Investigation Unit, finally nailed the alleged criminals, with the majority netted in a single swoop on 10 June.

According to Brig Vish Naidoo, the transactions or activities had been happening between Gauteng and Cape Town. Applicants made firearm applications mainly at Edenvale and Norwood, where details were falsified and no mandatory police checks were conducted before the issuing the licences.

No wonder there is a huge proliferation of illegal weapons and shooting of people in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

The Lincoln team’s work is commendable.

It would be a bad omission not to acknowledge the role of the police leadership in dealing with this problem. The combination of Cele and National Commissioner Khehla Sitole is showing results. The determination to root out criminality within the SAPS is visible and commendable.

One cannot help but notice that since Cele and Sitole took over the reins, there have been more arrests of their own.

The words of Sitole are encouraging: “We are systematically identifying and routing out corruption and corrupt members from the SAPS. It may be the hope and desire of many that criminality within the SAPS should be more speedily eradicated…”

In a separate matter earlier, the Anti-Corruption Task Team led by Brigadier Tony Perumal arrested, among others, a former lieutenant-general and six private citizens in a predawn raid on 4 June. They face multiple charges including fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering in an around Pretoria.

Perumal’s team worked with the NPA’s investigative directorate under advocate Hermione Cronje to probe and effect the arrests.

Even here, Sitole’s statement gave us hope. “I am confident that the cases against the arrested suspects are watertight,” he said.

Eric Naki.

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