Mbeki defends SAPS
14/02/2008 18:15  - (SA)  

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Cape Town - President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday defended the SA Police Service (SAPS) from its detractors, denying it is "junior" to the Scorpions.

The SAPS remained the pre-eminent and unequalled formation in South Africa that confronted crime daily, including organised crime, he said in reply to debate in the National Assembly on his state of the nation address.

"I was very disturbed when I listened to unfortunate remarks during our debate, which sought to denigrate the critically important work that our police service does everyday to improve the safety and security of all our citizens," he said.

The suggestion that the police service was nothing more than a junior and inferior formation relative to the Directorate of Special Operations [Scorpions] was absolutely wrong in the extreme.

The SAPS was made up of patriotic men and women who had, over the years, demonstrated an unwavering commitment, even to give their lives, to guarantee the safety and security of all citizens.

"Let us not insult them or speak carelessly about them, projecting them as a cabal of corrupt and incompetent individuals," Mbeki said.