South African national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole on Wednesday told MPs that there were strategies that had been put in place to prioritise police safety at all stations, although he admitted there were challenges.
He said some of the police stations needed to be completely redesigned as they made police members vulnerable. However, some police station premises were being rented, which became a barrier to raising safety measures at those particular stations.
Sitole was briefing the parliamentary committee on police about the eNgcobo police station killings in the Eastern Cape earlier this year, in which five police officers and a retired soldier were gunned down.
He was also giving an update on the technology strategy, with special reference to CCTV for police stations. Sitole also addressed the situation at Mamelodi West police station regarding police officers who allegedly mishandled a case of a missing child, Katlego Joja, 10, earlier this month.
Joja’s body was found days after her parents had been turned away from reporting her missing to the station.
– African News Agency (ANA)
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