Mbalula blames junior for tweet

Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has apologised after being called out by the South African Policing Union over a remark published on his official Twitter account.

The tweet related to an announcement that two police station commanders on the West Rand had been replaced‚ during a visit to the area by the minister to address community protests over criminality. On Tuesday‚ the union said: “We are giving Minister Mbalula 24 hours to retract this statement as it defames our members”.

"The Minister agrees with SAPU that the content of the tweet referred to is regrettable‚" Mbalula's office said in a statement on Wednesday morning.

"The tweet was written by Ministry Communications aide during and at the same time as the Minister’s speech to community - regrettably the tweet did not correctly capture the Minister’s statement (that) . . . the instituted rotation (of officers) should not be seen as apportioning any guilt . . .".

"After being alerted to the tweet‚ the Minister has since removed and deleted the said tweet and wishes to send a clear apology to the officers concerned. The Minister has no evidence of wrongdoing by the officers. The aide has been accordingly counselled."

Mbalula added that management rotation is a useful policy within the SAPS system and is often used.

The minister‚ however‚ also told the police union to desist from criticising him. His statement said he "regrets SAPU’s continued posture which seeks to undermine officer discipline and executive command authority".

"South Africans are demanding a changed attitude towards policing and their safety. . . The Minister fully agrees with the people of South Africa that police can do better."