Cape Town - The Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has approached the police ombuds Oswald Reddy to urge him to investigate a statement from a judge who says top cops and gangsters sit at the same table.
This follows after a Western Cape High Court judgment had stated that there was evidence that gang members had infiltrated the top management structures of the SAPS in the Western Cape, and were accessing key documents and strategies on crime fighting. With few arrests or prosecutions of gangsters taking place, it could be the case that this is actively aiding them to avoid the law.
In a ruling passed by Judge Daniel Thulare, it was stated: “The evidence suggests not only a capture of some lower ranking officers in the SAPS. The evidence suggests that the senior management of the SAPS in the province has been penetrated…
“… (this is) to the extent that the ‘28 gang’ has access to the table where the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in the Western Cape sits with his senior managers and leads them in the study of crime, develop crime prevention strategies and decide on tactics and approach to the safety and security of inhabitants of the Western Cape.
“This includes penetration of and access to the sanctity of the reports by specialised units like the Anti-Gang Unit and Crime Intelligence, to the Provincial Commissioner.”
Winde said this judgment had highlighted alleged horrific and deep-rooted corruption and collusion between the SAPS and members of the so-called “28 gang”.
“This matter cannot be ignored any longer by Police Minister Bheki Cele and the national government. In the absence of decisive action from them over a considerable amount of time, we as the Western Cape Government (WCG), are committed to addressing this critical issue,” Winde said.
He further added: “We hope to finally address and stem the rot that is alleged to have set in within the SAPS under Minister Cele’s watch. There is also no doubt in my mind that President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to fire Minister Cele. How much longer can the president allow him to keep this critical Cabinet position, in light of these serious allegations against SAPS.”
The premier highlighted that barely a day went by where there wasn’t a gang-related shooting in Cape Town. In a recent atrocity in Lavender Hill, an 11-year-old boy was shot dead in a suspected gang attack.
“It is tragedies like this that horrify me and our citizens. For how much longer must our communities continue to live in fear of gangs? This court judgment puts a huge question mark on the role of SAPS in possibly aiding these atrocities, when they are in fact the mandated body to be tackling them.
“We will not stand by as gangsterism runs rampant and communities are traumatised. We are taking action,” the premier said.
Western Cape’s Provincial Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, added: “I am horrified by the judge’s words, and I commend him for denying bail to the accused involved in this case. Various current and previous cases have highlighted the alleged corrupt relationship between certain SAPS members and gangsters.
“I am, however, deeply concerned that the results of IPID investigations would ultimately land at Minister Cele’s door, and we know he hasn’t taken any further steps on this in the past. In the interests of Western Cape residents, who suffer gang violence on a daily basis, we therefore need to take our own steps.”
Allen further added that the SAPS officers allegedly implicated didn’t deserve their blue uniform and as their alleged primary aim wasn’t to serve and protect residents, but allegedly to serve and protect the gangs.
IOL
sibuliso.duba@inl.co.za