Bheki Cele guns for izinkabi!

POLICE Minister Bheki Cele has revealed that most of the criminals and izinkabi are from his home province, KZN.

He said this during an imbizo on Saturday, 13 April, at the University of Joburg (UJ) Soweto campus.

The community engagement focused was aimed at addressing serious and violent crimes that impact communities and the police’s responses to criminality.

The imbizo forms part of ongoing efforts to flush out criminality in Gauteng communities and improve working relations with residents living in crime heavy areas.

Izinduna from different areas stressed that a lot of crime is happening at the hostels, and as leaders in those communities, they work with police to arrest criminals. However, criminals are seen walking the streets after a few days after their arrest.

Bheki Zondo, an induna at Denver Hostel, said: “Are police not paid enough? There are lots of criminal activities that take place in and outside the hostel. It’s sad to see police making friends with criminals and seeing them walking with criminals.”

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Some of the izinduna claimed there are police officers who enter the hostels pretending to do operations.

“They make us lie on the floor, enter our rooms and steal from us,” Zondo said.

Sakhiwe Dladla, an induna from Jabulani Hostel, said: “The justice system should be part of our meetings because the police do their job, arrest criminals but the system lets them go freely.

“At Jabulani Hostel, we once swam in a pool of blood. There was a man terrorising the hostel. He killed about 10 people. Police intervention helped a lot. We're here today because they protected us.”

Dladla claimed South Africa's law is soft on criminals.

“The law must be changed. People must fear the law and respect the police,” he said.

Addressing the imbizo, Cele said izinduna should give him permission to raid hostels and confiscate illegal weapons.

He said the police are working tirelessly to restore order in hostels.