By Thapelo Molefe
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the South African Police Service (SAPS) to use the “unprecedented public scrutiny” it is facing as a catalyst for renewal, while paying tribute to 12 police officers who were killed in the line of duty during the past financial year.
Speaking at the SAPS National Commemoration Day at the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Sunday, Ramaphosa said the country owed fallen officers more than ceremonial remembrance and had a responsibility to provide serving police officers with the systems, leadership, protection and resources needed to keep them safe.
The 12 officers honoured this year included nine from Gauteng and one each from North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. The youngest was 25 years old, while the group included the only woman on this year’s Roll of Honour.
The fallen officers were named as Constable George Hlekiso, Constable Gift Mota, Constable Maselaelo Arnold Montja, Constable Mzwakhe Raymond Khoza, Constable Sharon Hlangoane, Sergeant Sanele Alson Dlamini, Sergeant Lawrence Dumisane Mtsweni, Sergeant Matome Rachuene Rapetsoa, Sergeant Sello Raymond Sema, Sergeant Simon Sentsho Masenye, Warrant Officer Mosesi Frans Moswana and Warrant Officer Vuyisile Rodney Sintwa.
Ramaphosa said the deaths had left families permanently changed, with seven of the officers being husbands and fathers of young children.
Among the families present was a woman who was pregnant when her husband was killed, while another family was left to care for seven-month-old twins after their father and husband was killed.
“Behind every police killing is a family story that has been permanently rewritten,” Ramaphosa said.
Several of the officers were killed while working on the same shift, responding to business robbery complaints or transporting awaiting-trial prisoners, while others died during routine crime prevention and patrol duties.
Ramaphosa said attacks on police officers represented an attack on the authority of the state and the country’s constitutional order.
“When criminals target a police officer, they are attacking the integrity of the State, the rule of law and the constitutional order,” he said.
“They are not just attacking an individual. They are attacking the people of South Africa.”
Although Ramaphosa said there had been a significant decline in the number of police officers killed in the line of duty over the past few years, he warned that the loss of even one officer was too high.
He said the decline reflected the impact of operational interventions, police safety initiatives, community partnerships and cooperation between government and the private sector.
The SAPS has introduced a Police Safety Action Plan, known as “Think First – Act Safe: Every Call, Every Time”, which focuses on governance, proactive and reactive interventions, police station and infrastructure safety, and support for affected members.
But Ramaphosa said police safety could not be left to the SAPS alone. “Communities must become part of the protective architecture around our police,” he said. “They must report threats, protect information and reject criminality.”
He also appealed to businesses to support the children of fallen officers through the South African Police Service Education Trust (SAPSET).
Since its establishment in 2010, SAPSET has supported 2,215 children of fallen police officers and raised more than R25 million through sponsorships.
Ramaphosa said some beneficiaries had gone on to graduate, including obtaining master’s and doctoral degrees.
“I appeal directly to corporate South Africa: support SAPSET through sustainable donations and scholarship programmes,” he said.
The President’s call for police renewal comes as the SAPS faces intense scrutiny over allegations of corruption, political interference and criminal infiltration emerging before the Madlanga Commission.
Ramaphosa said the scrutiny should not cause the police service to become paralysed.
“At this moment, the SAPS is operating under unprecedented public scrutiny,” he said.
“The revelations emerging from the Judicial Commission of Inquiry have raised legitimate questions about policing, leadership, accountability and institutional integrity. This must not result in paralysis. Instead, it must be a catalyst for renewal.”
He said the police service needed to remain focused on preventing and combating crime and protecting communities, arguing that performance was the best response to public criticism.
“The best response to scrutiny is not defensiveness. It is performance. The best response to criticism is not denialism. It is professional conduct, measurable results and safer communities,” Ramaphosa said.
“We need to once again earn people’s trust, station by station, community by community.”
In his welcoming address, Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia said the commemoration was ultimately about the officers who left home to serve their country and never returned.
“Today is not really about speeches. It is about people,” Cachalia said.
“It is about the men and women who left their homes to serve their country and who, during the past financial year, did not return.”
He said the government’s responsibility towards the families of fallen officers did not end after their funerals and should include practical support, benefits, counselling, welfare and educational opportunities for their children.
“Our responsibility to families does not end when the funeral is over,” Cachalia said.
Ramaphosa said the country now had a duty to translate remembrance into action by improving police safety, strengthening the institution and rebuilding public trust.
“Today, we remember 12 fallen officers, but our responsibility is greater than remembrance. We must act,” he said.
“We owe the fallen a safer country. We owe their families sustained support and opportunity. We owe our police officers the systems, leadership, protection and resources necessary to keep them safe.”
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