Minister of Police Bheki Cele says he is ‘pleased’ with the country’s response to living under lockdown. The minister met with police management following ministerial visits to provinces to assess enforcement measures and adherence by the public to the nationwide lockdown.
In a statement, Cele expressed concern however that there were still those who were blatantly ignoring and disobeying the laws of lockdown, resulting in arrests for offences including fraudulent lockdown permits; failure to confine themselves to places of residence; illegal gatherings; and the biggest percentage, for violating regulations on the prohibition of the sale of liquor.
Cele also made mention of police officers who had been arrested for themselves contravening the lockdown regulations. He condemned these acts of criminality and welcomed the arrests which he said he believed endorsed the police’s zero-tolerance approach to criminality and corruption by its members.
The minister extended his thanks to those who had played their part in helping save the lives of fellow South Africans by adhering to the lockdown regulations. He applauded the greater percentage of the public, particularly those who continued to be the eyes and ears of the security forces in some residential areas, for their efforts in ensuring that everyone was home and safe.
“With us entering another two weeks of the extended lockdown, I want to encourage the members on deployment to continue the good work of ensuring that our citizens are protected against the killer coronavirus, and that they do this within the confines of the law.”
The minister said he was appealing to civil society to work with and support government’s priority to get everyone to stay home and save South Africa, emphasising that adhering to this call would minimise the burden on security forces in relation to policing during the lockdown.
