Thousands sign DA’s petition calling for Ramaphosa to fire Cele

More than 4,000 signatures have been garnered for the DA’s petition calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire police minister Bheki Cele. 

The official opposition party said Cele must go, citing that the police service is led by a “failing minister” who is also failing the country. 

“Every day 67 people are murdered, 153 people are raped and 364 violent robberies occur. The July 2021 attempted insurrection cost SA hundreds of lives and R50bn, while the police did nothing to prevent this. Our nation faces a safety crisis that can only be fixed by some major changes in the police service,” said the DA. 

According to the DA, Cele’s attitude towards protecting and serving South Africans was again displayed when he was confronted with his many failures. 

The party said instead of answering the concerns of Gugulethu residents in the Western Cape, Cele chose to shout down an activist and had police officers escort him from the premises.

“Despite overwhelming evidence of minister Cele’s unsuitability to hold office, President Ramaphosa has not so much as reprimanded him for his poor performance,” said the DA.

It said once Cele had been fired and replaced by a capable and fit-for-purpose minister, Ramaphosa must ensure the following is prioritised:

• increase the number of well-trained and resourced visible policing boots on the ground;
• demilitarise and professionalise the police service;
• eradicate the backlog of DNA samples and ensure the full implementation of the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Act when it comes into effect;
• create rural community policing units in each rural police station to provide additional protection to these areas so rural communities can feel safe;
• train and increase the number of police reservists to assist with reducing crime levels;
• devolve policing powers to competent provincial and local governments so national government has less control of the police service;
• expand the powers of existing metropolitan and local law enforcement officers, and;
• strengthen community policing partnerships with neighbourhood watches, community policing forums, non-governmental organisations, churches, private security, local law enforcement and metropolitan police.

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