Kamogelo Olaitan
Anti-crime activist Ian Cameron has opened a charge of crimen injuria against Police Minister Bheki Cele at the Gugulethu police station in Cape Town.
Cameron, the director for community safety at Action Society, also laid charges of assault against the police officers who forcibly removed him from a community meeting in Gugulethu on Tuesday.
This comes after Cameron’s heated exchange with Cele over the high rate of crime, especially gender-based violence, in Gugulethu and Nyanga townships.
Cameron, at a meeting between police, residents and community organisations, accused the minister of failing to protect residents or to deploy enough resources to crime hotspots.
Cameron also demanded that Cele resign as minister. This angered Cele, who told Cameron to “shut up”.
The minister went on to say: “I did not join human rights battles yesterday. I will not be called a garden boy. Don’t provoke me. I’ve lived this life. Shut up!”
Police officers then forcibly removed Cameron from the venue.
Cameron told the media after opening the charges on Thursday that he had no choice but to lay these charges.
“Until today, it is still unclear why, and on whose order, the police removed me from the meeting. I was no threat to anyone. I never wanted the meeting to turn into a political fight,” he said.
Cameron added that Action Society was mandated by survivors and families of victims of gender-based violence to speak on their behalf during the community meeting.
“Cele is, once again, abusing the police force for political gain and holding authority over ordinary citizens,” he said.
Following the incident, Action Society said it will approach the Public Protector to lay a complaint against Cele for failure to act in good faith, as well as compromising the credibility of the integrity of his office
Opposition parties also slammed Cele for the outburst, calling it an attempt to avoid accountability on policing issues.
