Cele won't be 'kissing crime'
2009-07-29 18:03
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Pretoria - Newly appointed police commissioner Bheki Cele says he will be tough on criminals.
"You can't be soft and you can't be moving around kissing crime.
"You need to be tough because you're dealing with tough guys," he told reporters in Pretoria after President Jacob Zuma named him the national police commissioner on Wednesday.
Cele said he wanted to see South Africa become a country where young women and children could walk without fear of attack.
He said he stood by his call for police to "shoot to kill".
"The 1977 Criminal Act stipulates that police are allowed to use a deadly force when attacked," he said.
Zuma said Cele was appointed because, amongst others, he had managed to fight crime in KwaZulu-Natal, especially taxi violence and cash heists.
Cele will take up the position on August 2.
- SAPA