Police minister Bheki Cele with Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen Elias Mawela, MEC of Community Safety officials and other law enforcement agencies enforcing compliance on Level 3 lockdown regulations in Soweto. Image: Twitter/@SAPoliceService
After embarking on a multidisciplinary operation in Soweto on Saturday, Minister of Police Bheki Cele found that some residents were still not adhering to social distancing and movement restrictions.
Cele did say that in some areas of Soweto, residents were complying, but that others were not taking Covid-19 mitigating measures seriously.
He sought to remind people that “the law says you must drink alcohol at home and not in groups, the non-gathering regulation still exists.”
The operation, carried out by SAPS and supported by the JMPD and SANDF, saw scores of people arrested for selling illegal cigarettes, consuming alcohol publicly, and contravening regulations of the country’s Disaster Management Act.
Compliance with regulations was essential to mitigating the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has killed 14 police officers so far. The number of infected SAPS members has also risen to 1,685.
Of these cases, 1,134 were from the Western Cape, closely followed by the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
As of Saturday, 13 June, the cumulative number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa was 65,736, with 1,423 deaths recorded.
“Over 600 of the officers have recovered from this virus and are back to serving our communities,” Cele assured.
Cele took the opportunity to condemn the heinous incidents of gender-based violence affecting women and children.
“I’m pleased that police have made arrests in the case where a young woman was found murdered and dumped in a veld in Doorknob. That person will appear in court on Monday,” he said.
Investigations into the disturbing murder of 28-year-old eight months pregnant Tshegofatso Pule has also gained traction, with Cele saying that police are currently tracking down a suspect.
“Gender-based violence is a societal issue that needs law enforcement and arms of justice to work hand-in-hand with civic organisations and formations to confront this monster head-on.”
(Compiled by Nica Richards)
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