Durban metro police to surrender guns
2012-10-28 22:23
Johannesburg - Durban metro police will hand over their side-arms on Monday in an attempt to have their boss fired, it was reported on Sunday.
The metro police were embroiled in a protracted dispute with the municipality over its refusal to dismiss their head Eugene Nzama, the Sunday Tribune reported.
About 1 000 metro police were expected to surrender their service pistols outside their headquarters.
According to the newpaper, Institute for Security Studies senior researcher Johan Burger said: "They face the prospect of being easy targets for criminals if their threats to surrender the guns and work without them [come to pass]."
Durban metro police deputy head Steve Middleton told the newspaper he was baffled by the decision.
"Why would they want to do this?" he asked.
Nzama was reportedly placed on three months special leave in June because of concerns about his safety and the instability in the department under his leadership.
He was reinstated after he challenged the move in the Durban Labour Court.
- SAPA
