Police Minister Fikile Mbalula plans to introduce a firearms-control bill in Parliament. Mbalula was appointed police minister 25 days ago and has already sought to shake up the department by removing Hawks boss Berning Ntlemeza, vowing to get rid of “rogue” police officers and returning to the populist view adopted by former minister Bheki Cele that police take a hard line on crime. “This society is highly armed — there are people who have guns who are not supposed to have guns,” he told journalists in Pretoria on Tuesday. “Police must be ruthless against those who are armed and want to undermine the law and order of this country. “If they shoot you, shoot back and shoot to kill and don’t allow yourself to be killed,” the minister said in a message to police officers. Mbalula was briefing media after a strategic planning session that was meant to guide his first 100 days in office. He told police officers that the law would protect them when they were protecting citizens. He also s...
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