Police minister Bheki Cele says the problems with backlogs at the forensic pathology laboratories have to do with “supply chain management”.
He was speaking on Monday at an update on measures to address the crime picture in the country.
The conference was also held to announce new senior appointments, one of which was Molefe Fani, the new divisional commissioner for supply chain management.
“The DNA issues are nothing but supply chain management issues,” Cele said. “But we believe we’ve fixed that now.”
In April police said the backlog in the forensic laboratories is being handled with the urgency it deserves and that priority was given to DNA samples required for court cases, especially those related to gender-based violence cases, and DNA samples needed for the identification of people for burials.
The last official tally was in May where it was revealed to the police portfolio committee in parliament that the DNA testing backlog increased from 117,000 in December to nearly 173,000 in the first week of March.
This is after Cele promised in March that the DNA backlogs would be cleared within six months.
He said the delays had been severe, but 42% of dockets for crimes committed against women and children that had been outstanding for more than a year were now finalised.
At the time chief specialist at the Gauteng Forensic Pathology Service’s southern cluster, Prof Jeanine Vellema, now retired, said the backlogs in toxicology tests had existed as long as 10 years.
TimesLIVE Premium has several times this year sent requests to the department for an update on the DNA backlogs, as well as the issues for the holdup, despite Cele’s promise.
To date there has been no response.
According to Gen Sehlahle Fannie Masemola, Molefe Fani brings to the SAPS a wealth of experience in the supply chain management environment he has amassed from the private and public sectors.
“Fani has served in various senior roles which include serving as a chief director: supply chain management within National Treasury since December 2018, serving as an adviser: supply chain, research and policy within the Gauteng treasury, as well as group procurement manager in the African Exploration, Mining and Financing Corporation (AEMFC). He holds a national diploma in chemical engineering, a B-Tech degree in technology, a Bachelor of Business Administration honours degree, as well as a Masters in Commerce degree.”
On Monday, at a Q&A session with the media, Cele addressed other areas of crime plaguing the country.
“South Africans need to feel safe — these mass shootings with KwaZulu-Natal being the latest, saw 12 people killed in one precinct in the last 12 hours.”
This after a slew of tavern shooting involving mass killings across Gauteng and KZN.
Some motives are still to be confirmed but it looks like extortions. None of the tavern shootings are linked to one another and we will update the public as we move forward — most cases are drug or extortion related.
— Gen Fannie Masemola, SAPS national police commissioner
“We are responding and have made it a priority to find the perpetrators.”
Masemola said the shootings were not organised and had various motives.
“Some motives are still to be confirmed but it looks like extortion. None of the tavern shootings are linked to one another and we will update the public as we move forward — most cases are drug or extortion related.”
Cele said the Krugersdorp rapes on Friday was “the shame of the nation”.
He was referring to the eight women who were raped in the area on Friday. They were shooting a music video in a disused mine when they were attacked by a gang of men who raped the women and stole their possessions. Some women were raped by as many as 10 men.
“I met the families and survivors — these are young kids. You hear their story but when you see the victims, you realise they are human and not just a story; you realise the destruction [that happened to them]. The trauma is permanent.
“Some of [the victims] are artists, singers, some are young models. These are people trying make a better life. What happened is a destruction of their future.”
Cele said every month should be treated as women’s month and that police needed to double their efforts when dealing with crimes on women and children.
“Police need understand those women need all the care and heart [when reporting to police] after they have been abused — they must not be abused for the second time at the station. They must not be told to go back home to negotiate. Perpetrators must be arrested.”
The media also asked questions around the president’s Phala Phala scandal and the police’s progress in the murder of corruption whistle-blower, Babita Deokaran.
Authorities responded they were investigating the Phala Phala matter case on the complaint by former head of the State Security Agency Arthur Fraser.
“We’ve already obtained 30 statements and we cannot say what is contained in docket. But rest assured every stone will be turnt.”
Police said an investigation would reveal who to arrest in the Deokaran case after the media asked if the so-called “paymaster” would be arrested.
“Let’s not get into that [before we know the details],” police said.
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