POLICE MINISTER
MPs urge Bheki Cele to step up fight against crime
Panel also urges the tough-talking minister to improve working conditions for South Africa’s police force
A tough-talking Bheki Cele returned to Parliament on Wednesday as police minister, a sight that played out like a throwback to his "shoot to kill" days as national commissioner. Cele, who was fired in 2012 as national police commissioner for his involvement in a suspect lease deal, made a comeback as police minister on Monday, after President Cyril Ramaphosa reshuffled the Cabinet. Former public protector Thuli Madonsela also investigated the lease matter. Cele, speaking about the police killings in Engcobo, labelled the perpetrators inhumane savages and said the police should be unapologetic about defending civilians and themselves when threatened. "The SAPS [South African Police Service] are not an undertaker company. We are here to protect South Africans, not to bury our members. If anyone wants to go to war with the SAPS, it should be one side that results in burials and that side should not be the side of the SAPS," said Cele. DA MP Zakhele Mbhele listed a number of systemic fa...
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