Cele pledges police will act against cable thieves and Nhlanhla 'Lux' says residents will defend themselves

Police minister Bheki Cele has sent a message to cable thieves: “We will not sit back and allow people committing economic crimes to do as they want.”

Police and Joburg City Power have joined forces to root out criminality in communities.

Cele was addressing the media in Pimville, Soweto, on Wednesday where a resident, Kgomotso Diale, was fatally shot.

Diale was killed on Monday during a march in Chicken Farm, an informal settlement in Kliptown. Residents expressed frustration with power outages in Pimville zones 3, 4, 5 and 7 due to cable theft.

Cele said government would take steps to prevent cable theft.

“I spoke to the mayor last week after we were in Diepsloot and we agreed to collaborate. So far, the mayor and City Power have preliminary agreements about how they’re going to deal with [it until] they come up with a permanent response.”

Leader of Operation Dudula, Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini, called on police to act against criminality. He warned, in the presence of the minister, that if police don’t act, communities will retaliate against criminality.

He accused politicians of being corrupt and accepting bribes instead of looking after the communities they are expected to serve.

“The message we want the minister to convey to the politicians is this: 'Their brown envelopes are not enough. The people will rise and they shall govern,” said Dlamini. 

Cele said it was not the responsibility of the police alone to eradicate cable theft. 

“The issue is for Eskom, City Power and the police. We have to work together. Streets must be lit at night, houses must be numbered, grass must be cut ... when that is done, crime will go down.”