Lerato Mbhiza
Police Minister Bheki Cele visited the aggrieved community of Riverlea, west of Johannesburg, following violent protests against illegal mining in the area.
The protest comes a day after Cele promised a response to the community’s concerns within 24 hours. “The police, at a top level, led by General Zulu, must come here toe-to-toe with the criminals,” he said.
Residents have demanded the government’s immediate intervention, saying they live in constant fear due to the constant ringing of gunshots in their neighbourhood in what they believe is turf wares among illegal miners.
Cele promised the immediate deployment of the Tactical Response Team (TRT), also known as the ‘Amaberethe’, to flush out the criminals.
“There are Amaberethe that we are leaving here, but that’s not the end. We’ll reinforce them. We need to find these guys where they are. We need to flush them out of their holes and make sure they know not to interfere with the community.”
This was not the first time the police minister had responded with similar intervention in a community plagued by violent crime.
Last month, the community of Diepsloot protested over the growing number of robberies and murders in the area, while lamenting the lack of police commitment and capacity to deal with the problem after Cele had in 2022 deployed resources including the TRT unit to the area..
However, community leaders who were demanding the audience with President Cyril Ramaphosa while calling for a permanent solution to their service delivery woes – said not much had changed since then.
Cele also made the same promises to the communities of Pimvillle and Kliptown last year, following the shooting and death of Kgomotso Diale at the Chicken Farm informal settlement.
At the time, the minister told protesting residents that a team of 12 detectives had been assembled to investigate the 44-year-old’s death.
Opposition parties have criticised Cele and accused him of failing to run the police ministry, leaving South African to fend for themselves.
But the minister called for level headedness, saying the situation affects everyone regardless of their political affiliation.
“When these criminals come here, they don’t ask for your political card. So, it’s important that we fight as people, he said .
“Hold me on my word that here we are going to change the situation and make sure that zama zamas give the space to the people of this community starting from Zamimpilo to Riverlea”.
Inside Politics
