Bheki Cele: 109 cops died!

POLICE Minister Bheki Cele has revealed that 109 cops have died in the past eleven months.

He announced this on Sunday, 7 April, while addressing successes and takedown operations of SAPS.

Cele said 36 of the 109 police officers were killed in the line of duty.

“Tragically, over the past 11 months, 109 police officers have lost their lives. At the same time, the majority of the members died off duty. Thirty-six police officers were killed during the commission of their policing work, such as confrontation with brutal and armed criminals,” he said.

He further revealed that 83 suspects had been arrested in connection to the killings.

“Through investigative work conducted by the DPCI, 83 suspects have been arrested in connection with the police killings. Our message is clear, no police officer should die with a gun in their hand. We call on the police to remain vigilant, protect communities and protect themselves,” he said.

ALSO READ | Dept takes action on Curro's post

Cele said that through Operation Shanela, they arrested over 500 000 suspects since its launch in May 2023.

“Exactly 551 506 suspects have been arrested for various crimes across the country since May 2023 when Operation Shanela was introduced.

“Officers in blue in all 9 provinces, led by the respective Provincial Commissioners, have conducted almost 70 thousand (69 468) high density crime prevention and combating operations in the last eleven months.

“The countrywide high-density operations have resulted in the arrest of 8 563 suspected rapists and 6 045 murder suspects. 4 410 suspects have been arrested for attempted murder. Police officers have arrested 63 573 Assault GBH suspects and 37 333 suspects accused of common assault,” he said.

Under Operation Vala Umgodi, they had arrested 3 298 illegal miners, 989 South Africans, 818 Zimbabweans, 546 Basotho nationals, 440 Mozambicans, 186 Ethiopians, 159 Malawians, 32 Nigerians and 22 Bangladesh nationals.