Everson Luhanga
South Africa has been rocked by weeks of horrific crime leading to the deaths of many innocent people.
In response, the country has seen the largest combined police operations since the end of apartheid, with local groups joining the authorities to get rid of crime.
The figure in the centre of the storm is Police Minister Bheki Cele.
Political parties such as the Economic Freedom Fighters have called for his resignation in the wake of the Krugersdorp gang rape and its aftermath.
Action Society leader Ian Cameron has been vocal on many platforms, expressing how the Police Ministry is failing victims of crime.
Media houses have relished pointing out the times the minister has put his foot in his mouth, such as when he declared that a woman who was raped only once by a zamazama was lucky, compared to those who were gang raped by eight men.
Whatever he does, Cele seldom gets good press.
But say this much for him: Cele and Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela have dirtied their boots on the ground to direct many of the operations.
Cele has a huge role to play in building confidence in the police so communities do not violently take the law into their own hands.
After the gang rape of eight women in Krugersdorp, the police were under massive pressure not only to show force but to find those responsible for the crime that shocked the nation.
Had they failed, there was a real potential for the situation to spill out of control.
What we saw was residents of Kagiso helping the police to track down illegal miners in their township.
They volunteered their bakkies into which they loaded captured zamazamas.
None of the zamazamas that we witnessed being captured were assaulted. Residents simply handed them to the police station where they were locked up.
Some unruly groups did attack foreigners, and others who have lost hope that the police will protect them took to the streets to destroy state property.
But, given the depth of sentiment in communities across Gauteng, the possibility of something far worse happening was averted.
Cele promised that results of the DNA tests taken after the gang rape would be released faster than the usual four-month period.
On Wednesday, DNA test results apparently identified 14 people who were among many zamazamas arrested during the police crackdown. The men are now charged with rape.
Cele pointed out that the roots of the problem are not the zamazamas, many of them destitute teenagers, but organised crime lords and businessmen – those who profit from the gold from the abandoned dumps and pay off policemen and politicians to look the other way.
The tavern shootings and the taxi violence can also be traced back to organised crime.
Tackling organised crime and corruption is the massive challenge that South Africa faces – and our law enforcement has so far been found wanting.
But the task of establishing trust with ordinary citizens who fear for their safety is the most basic challenge of law enforcement.
While visiting different communities, Cele has requested the names of police officers alleged to be soliciting bribes and working with criminals. He has instructed Crime Intelligence and detectives to bring to book the members that are bringing shame to the service.
On Saturday, 30 April, Cele engaged residents of Botshabelo in the Free State during a Ministerial Crime Prevention Imbizo.
On his visit to the Mthatha police station in the Eastern Cape, Cele sent a stern warning to police officers who are not helping gender-based violence victims.
On the tavern shooting, the minister and Gauteng commissioner Mawela tasked an 11-member team of detectives to investigate the murders. Maximum resources were activated to find and apprehend the five suspects who entered the Mdlalose tavern and killed 16 people in a mass shooting.
In July, Cele spearheaded the establishment of a multi-pronged task team made up of various government departments to address the growing acts of taxi violence.
He addressed about 18 taxi associations’ representatives at the Ugu Sport and Leisure Centre in the south of Durban.
Since the news of the Krugersdorp gang rape, the minister and Gauteng police brass have had two crime imbizos, one at West Village and the other one in Kagiso, where they listened to and engaged with residents.
Over and above these engagements, Cele also finds the time to attend funeral services of SAPS members killed in the line of duty.
National police spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said 27 police officers were killed in the first three months of 2022 alone.
We all owe them all a debt of gratitude and respect.
