SAPS evacuate office due to Covid-19 infection – after refusing AfriForum’s hand sanitisers

AfriForum said in a statement on Thursday that the Gauteng provincial police department had refused to accept hand sanitiser from minority rights body AfriForum.

This while a major police officer had to be evacuated and sanitised after a police employee in a Pretoria SAPS office tested positive for Covid-19.

The Office of the Divisional Commissioner in Arcadia, Pretoria, has now been shut down until 7 April.

UPDATE: Bheki Cele says AfriForum’s sanitisers are welcome, but they must use the right procedures

AfriForum had earlier delivered branded hand sanitisers to police stations in the south of Gauteng, the West Rand, East Rand and Pretoria.

In a tweet, AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel expressed disgust at the move, saying: “What a disgrace! This Maj. Gen. would rather gamble with the lives of SAPS members than allowing ⁦AfriForum to help. So much for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s #ThumaMina.”

AfriForum has claimed that Major General Rampota of the Gauteng Provincial Police Office today demanded that police stations refuse to accept the AfriForum-branded hand sanitiser and that police stations that had already been given the sanitiser bottles should return them.

AfriForum attempted to donate 5,000 bottles of hand sanitiser to police units in Gauteng this week to help protect police officers from contracting Covid-19 while carrying out their duties.

“Despite appeals for help by officers at these stations, the police’s provincial management persisted in their refusal of the hand sanitiser,” said AfriForum.

Ian Cameron, AfriForum’s head of community safety, added: “It is primarily the government’s responsibility to protect police officers, who find themselves in the front lines of this crisis, against contracting the virus.

“Very few police stations have received adequate equipment such as masks, gloves and hand sanitiser up to now. It is therefore immoral and extremely irresponsible of senior police officials to endanger the lives and health of police officers by refusing our bona fide help.”

According to Cameron, AfriForum’s objective with the donation was to assist the police against getting the virus while on duty. Using hand sanitiser would also mean police officers would have a reduced risk of being infected by colleagues who could already have the virus but are unaware of it.

“The virus has the potential to put a whole police station out of action – and that’s something we can’t afford,” said Cameron.