Police Minister, Bheki Cele hopes to return to Normandien in two weeks’ time, with more details of Glen and Vida Rafferty’s killers ‘in hand’.
The minister drove to the area yesterday (September 2) mainly to pay his condolences to the Rafferty family, but admitted it would have been folly on his part to ‘jet in and jet out’ without hearing the community’s concerns. This prompted a meeting at an auction yard in the area.
In attendance were Normandien farmers and residents, along with representatives of security companies, community policing forums, local council and the media, all of who were invited to address questions to Cele. However, he would not address specifics of the ongoing case.
Cele urged the Normandien community to face crime as a collective and admitted the vast size of the area (totalling 102 farms) would necessitate the and re-allocation of police resources. A total of only 28 officials are stationed in the area presently.
Cele explained a specialised team was in charge of the Rafferty murder case, adding that out of seven farm killings since last year, this was the only case in which an arrest had not yet been made.
“I am comfortable with reports from the head of the investigating team. We have good leads going forward,” he later commented, after meeting with the Rafferty family at Hanover Farm.
Read the full report in next week’s edition of the Newcastle Advertiser (on shelves from September 10) and watch a video of part of the briefing below:
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