Police minister Bheki Cele has dismissed viral social media posts suggesting he is frightened of the Gcaba brothers who run a minibus taxi empire in KwaZulu-Natal. The Gcaba family name came under the spotlight in the Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane murder case.
Last month, the Durban magistrate's court heard that the detective investigating the murders traced the source of an R800,000 payment to one of the accused, Mziwethemba Gwabeni, a day after AKA and Tibz were murdered to businessman, Sydney Mfundo Gcaba. The Gcaba family said the money was “purely for business purposes” and had nothing to do with the murders.
As questions emerged about why Gcaba, though mentioned in the investigations, was not arrested, a short video of Cele speaking to JJ Tabane on Frank Dialogue about a businessman who is feared in KwaZulu-Natal trended. Though Cele did not name the businessman, the posts said “Cele says he is scared of the Gcaba brothers”.
At the weekend, during the funeral of Sgt Sibongiseni Khoza, Cele said the posts were spreading misinformation as he was talking about Inanda taxi boss Siyabonga Getsemane.
“I spoke to JJ [late last year] about construction mafias. I said there is someone they [contractors] are scared of. People on social media wrote 'Cele says he is scared of the Gcaba family'. The person I was talking about is Getsemane from [Inanda] who owns more than 1,000 taxis and people are scared of him,” he said.
Cele said Getsemane and his bodyguards were arrested in November after they allegedly marched onto a construction site threatening to take over.
“Twelve armed people went to a construction site and the businessman told the contractors 'you must leave here, I am in charge now'. The owners called the police for help. When the contractors fled the site they used trucks to block the road and police found the suspects on site.
“We arrested Getsemane and 12 bodyguards and now he is suing for R100m for the arrests. So people on social media must stop talking about things they do not know, they must stop being stupid. I am not scared of anyone. We deal with thugs and criminals. People on social media must stop spreading misinformation,” he said.
Here are some of the short videos from social media:
'I am not scared of anyone' — Cele on Gcaba brothers and police clash with Inanda taxi boss
Image: ELMOND JIYANE
Police minister Bheki Cele has dismissed viral social media posts suggesting he is frightened of the Gcaba brothers who run a minibus taxi empire in KwaZulu-Natal. The Gcaba family name came under the spotlight in the Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane murder case.
Last month, the Durban magistrate's court heard that the detective investigating the murders traced the source of an R800,000 payment to one of the accused, Mziwethemba Gwabeni, a day after AKA and Tibz were murdered to businessman, Sydney Mfundo Gcaba. The Gcaba family said the money was “purely for business purposes” and had nothing to do with the murders.
As questions emerged about why Gcaba, though mentioned in the investigations, was not arrested, a short video of Cele speaking to JJ Tabane on Frank Dialogue about a businessman who is feared in KwaZulu-Natal trended. Though Cele did not name the businessman, the posts said “Cele says he is scared of the Gcaba brothers”.
At the weekend, during the funeral of Sgt Sibongiseni Khoza, Cele said the posts were spreading misinformation as he was talking about Inanda taxi boss Siyabonga Getsemane.
“I spoke to JJ [late last year] about construction mafias. I said there is someone they [contractors] are scared of. People on social media wrote 'Cele says he is scared of the Gcaba family'. The person I was talking about is Getsemane from [Inanda] who owns more than 1,000 taxis and people are scared of him,” he said.
Cele said Getsemane and his bodyguards were arrested in November after they allegedly marched onto a construction site threatening to take over.
“Twelve armed people went to a construction site and the businessman told the contractors 'you must leave here, I am in charge now'. The owners called the police for help. When the contractors fled the site they used trucks to block the road and police found the suspects on site.
“We arrested Getsemane and 12 bodyguards and now he is suing for R100m for the arrests. So people on social media must stop talking about things they do not know, they must stop being stupid. I am not scared of anyone. We deal with thugs and criminals. People on social media must stop spreading misinformation,” he said.
Here are some of the short videos from social media:
Here is a full video of the dialogue. Cele speaks about the arrests at 53 minutes.
TimesLIVE
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