Almost 60 police officers in the Eastern Cape were fired for serious crimes‚ including murder‚ rape and armed robbery‚ and a staggering R51-million was paid out in civil claims in the 2015-16 financial year.
A further 15 officers have been fired so far in this financial year‚ with R3.5-million in claims still pending as of October.
These figures were revealed by Safety and Liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana at the legislature in response to questions by the Democratic Alliance’s Bobby Stevenson.
Of the 73 officers fired in total‚ nine were found guilty of murder‚ six of rape‚ three of kidnapping and two of armed robbery.
The R51-million is almost double the R28.3-million paid out in the 2014-15 financial year.
Stevenson said 781 civil claims had been paid out in the previous financial year‚ compared with 667 in 2014-15.
“This is as a result of poor training and a lack of accountability‚ such as adhering to the basics‚ like writing up their pocket books‚” he said.
“The good name and reputation of our hard-working policemen and women who work under difficult circumstances should not be tarnished by the actions of lawless elements who simply want to do as they please.”
The Institute for Security Studies’s Gareth Newham said the large amounts of money being spent by police on civil claims was not restricted to the Eastern Cape.
Nationally these claims had jumped 175% over five years‚ from R106-million in the 2011-12 financial year to R291-million in 2015-16. - The Herald
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