Solemnity and a call to action at funeral of slain Delft police constable

26 July 2019 - 08:21 By ARON HYMAN
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Police minister Bheki Cele at the funeral of slain police officer Constable Songezo Khetiwe.
Police minister Bheki Cele at the funeral of slain police officer Constable Songezo Khetiwe.
Image: SAPS

Police minister Bheki Cele "demanded" discipline from his shell-shocked troops during a speech at the funeral of slain police officer Constable Songezo Khetiwe, who was gunned down in Delft, Cape Town.

The words of a police officer and member of the police football team Ketiwe played for seemed to irk Cele, prompting his call for discipline. 

When a Constable Bafo, representing football club Faure, spoke at the funeral at the Church of St Matthews in Delft on Thursday, he said being a police officer was "no longer interesting".

"You leave your loved ones and your family, and you don't know whether you will be coming back to them," he said. 

Cele later lashed out at what he said was an undisciplined police service.

"I make this call to the discipline of the members of the South African police. I demand it, actually. I'm not saying you can't raise matters as you see them, but you can't behave as if you are not trained and you don't know what kind of profession you have joined," he said.

"As I'm saying, I am a soldier of Umkhonto we Sizwe. I spent some time in the bush. We left our parents at home and went to other countries. There was no mom and no dad. We never knew if we would ever come back into the Republic of South Africa. When we came back and were shot and killed, and some of us taken to Robben Island, we never knew if we would come out," he said.

The minister said officers entered into the South African Police Service (SAPS) knowing the dangers which awaited them.

"I demand! I demand discipline from the members of the South African police! I demand it. I'm not requesting it, I'm not asking for it.

"There is something called a kamikaze operation. It's usually taken by the PLO operatives. It's a mission you take knowing very well you are not coming back, but you take it on behalf of your people," said Cele.

Khetiwe's mother, sister, and brother were in the front row of the full church hall, staring blankly ahead of them during proceedings. 

Cele visited them after Khetiwe was killed. He was  conducting policing patrols in Delft when a gunman opened fire on him on Sunday, an attack Cele described as "unprovoked".

Two other police officers, who responded to his call for help, were shot and wounded. 

Cele said he was aggrieved that the oldest person whose funeral he'd attended in the past few weeks was 32.

"Someone in this city has declared war on the police."

He said if he had "superpowers" Khetiwe's murderer would be on stage addressing the crowd of hundreds of mourners so he could see the pain and damage he had caused.

"He took away a breadwinner. Khetiwe children are four and seven years old, and no one will be able to pay for their education, but this scoundrel will go to prison and get food, warm water, and he can study and get an education up to a PhD," said Cele.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula's speech, in contrast, was solemn.

"Archibishop Desmond Tutu once said hope is being able to see that there is light, despite all of the darkness. Since the news broke, I've been battling to find the light," he said.

"Month after month we bury our young officers. I struggle to find the light. Even the arrest of the suspect brings very little comfort," said Jula.


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