Cele: Police killings must end

2011-09-07 20:46

Durban - The killing of police officers has to end, national police commissioner General Bheki Cele said at the funeral on Wednesday of a policeman slain in the line of duty.

"I am saying use them [guns] decisively and the rest will speak later. Don’t come back to us like this," he said, pointing at the coffin of Warrant Officer Rakesh Maharaj.

Maharaj was shot dead, one of his colleagues was critically wounded and another was seriously wounded while trying to make an arrest in Welbedacht, outside Chatsworth in Durban.

Acting on a tip-off, they had entered the hideout of the two killers of ANC eThekwini secretary Sbu Sibiya, who was shot dead outside his home in Inanda in July.

Both gunmen died in the ensuing shootout.

According to recent statistics, 65 police officers have been killed since the beginning of this year. In 2010, 94 police officers died, in 2009, 107 were killed and in 2008, 110.

Cele criticised the crime analysts and experts who had lambasted him for calling on the police to act decisively when attacked by criminals.

"They say Cele can't lead, he only calls for war that does not exist. If there is no war, why am I standing here? This is a war and it must be won," he said.

"Don't listen to anyone who is saying we are brutal. The police killings must end."

Police officers' priority was to arrest criminals, but they should not hesitate to retaliate if suspects made it difficult for them to do their jobs, he said.

Cele said the job of tracking down Sibiya's killers was not over, and that the case would be finalised.

He said South Africa's crime statistics, which would be released on Thursday, showed the police were doing well.

"You are doing very well. You will see when the minister [Nathi Mthethwa] releases the crime statistics tomorrow [Thursday]," Cele said.

Criminals would not rejoice when they saw the crime statistics, but would try to claim back their space.

The government releases crime statistics once a year, primarily to provide the public with an indication of the crime situation.

Maharaj's funeral was also attended by KwaZulu-Natal Safety and Community Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu, who said it was not the police who should be killed during arrests.

"The fact that the police were able to track down the killers means someone tipped them off and volunteered the information," he said.

- SAPA