Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has warned criminals and corrupt police officers that their days are numbered.
Speaking at the Zolani Centre, in Nyanga, on Thursday October 26, two days after the release of the latest crime statistics, Mr Mbalula said police would intensify their fight against crime in the area.
Nyanga maintained the notorious tag of the country’s murder capital (“Crime remains high in the townships”, Vukani, October 26).
He was accompanied by the provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula; acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba, and Nyanga cluster commander Major General Sizakhele Dyantyi.
Mr Mbalula also announced the building of a new police station in Samora Machel to beef up police’s fight against crime, and called for strong leadership.
“Whether it is at school or anywhere, there is always a need for strong leadership. We need strong leadership to fight crime here,” he said.
Mr Mbalula thanked the community of Nyanga for its contribution towards crime fighting. He shared some strategic interventions to fight crime.
“We were here and we promised to come back. Even though we came back late, we came back. You gave us your needs and now I can safely say policing is working in Nyanga. You complained about police capacity; we have now increased the numbers. We had 348 posts and we have filled 347,” he said to applause from those at the event.He said the building of a police station in Samora Machel was a priority and that there would be a dedicated specialised unit of the Tactical Response Team ( TRT ) based in Nyanga.
Mr Mbalula also saluted the leadership of SAPS for their continued efforts toward making the country a safer place. He further assured the residents of Nyanga of his plans to monitor policing efforts in the precinct after it acquired the notorious title of being the murder capital of the country for the past 10 years. “Nyanga has been leading for too long as murder capital. But I must assure people that we are dealing with that,” he said.
Lieutenant-General Mothibe said corruption within SAPS remained one of the major stumbling blocks in the fight against crime in the country.
“Let us get rid of the rotten apples in our midst. We cannot afford to have such elements. Let us identify them and deal with them. Station commanders, get rid of these criminals that are wearing our uniform,” he said.
