Festive message from Police Commissioner

Provincial Police Commmissioner Nneke Ledwaba’s Festive Season message:
“Once again we find ourselves in the Festive Season. I take this opportunity to send my warmest greetings and felicitous Christmas wishes to everyone in Limpopo.
The festive period is usually the busiest time of the year. During this time, the province experiences an influx of tourists and people visiting their families for Christmas. It is very unfortunate that during this time, most people find themselves on the wrong side of the law or in the hands of opportunistic criminals who exploit this joyful time and turn it into a very uncomfortable time of the year.
As the custodians of law and order, we cannot cease to emphasise on the importance of community and personal safety. We are mandated by the constitution to protect and safeguard the lives of the citizens of this country and their property. It is therefore our duty to advise the people we serve about personal safety.
We have in the past recorded a number of cases where people get robbed while or after withdrawing money from ATMs. This has become a common phenomenon as people continue to trust strangers with their bank cards, pin codes and money. In addition to such cases, we continue to see an upsurge in incidents of robbery and hijacking against hitch hikers and those that do pick-ups. As such, we urge commuters and travellers to use public or reliable transport. We also urge drivers to be more careful with the people they pick on the road and always be vigilant when entering and leaving their homes.
Moreover, we continue to experience a number of fatalities on the road due to alcohol abuse and negligence. We advise all drivers to desist from driving under the influence of alcohol and inconsiderately. This type of behaviour continues to immensely contribute to the number of road accidents that occur on daily basis. Pedestrians are also advised to avoid walking next to the road while they are drunk. They should also avoid jay walking which is one of the causes of pedestrian accidents.
As a province, we are currently experiencing a scourge of gender-based violence. The recent murder of Capricorn Tvet College, Precious Ramabulana (21) has brought the Police and the community much closer and this was manifested by the swift arrest of the suspect, Aubrey Manaka (28). I call on all our communities to seriously isolate perpetrators of this scourge to make it easy for Police to apprehend them.
As the Police, we are proud to have successfully launched the Safer Festive Season Operations and announced our plans, intentions and state of readiness. We are committed to working together with the community to fight crime and get rid of criminals in our communities and make sure that the Festive Season becomes an enjoyable time. With that being said, we appeal to everyone to work hand in glove with the Police to identify and expose criminals.
We have through our strategic Operation Swara Tsotsi managed to arrest and confiscate unlicensed firearms, contraband and stolen property.
Thanks to the relentless efforts of our hard working Police officials and members of the community who continue to support crime prevention activities and keep us informed about criminal activities in the community. We are confident that we will continue to fight crime with the same attitude and energy.
We cannot afford to lose more lives in the Festive Season. It is our wish to see everyone get to the new year safely and happily. I once more wish you well in your merriments this Festive Season.”