Reports of armed robbery against transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga and her VIP protectors have sent the nation into a spin.
How do several, armed, presumably highly-alert and well-trained VIP protectors get robbed and disarmed by highway bandits?
The statement from the SAPS was terse, noting merely that the November 6 incident took place on the N3 between Vosloorus and Heidelberg. The police appeared desperate to water down the incident: “Personal belongings and two SAPS service pistols were stolen during the incident.”
Stolen?
This, by the police version, was a robbery, not a theft that took place when police were either not around or paying attention. They were robbed by hoodlums on the highway. The statement also leaves us wondering if the minister’s cellphone, which may contain crucial government information, was taken.
This robbery is a new low for our men in blue. We know many don’t rate our officers highly and that many of our men and women in uniform have not covered themselves in glory in the past, earning themselves the nickname “Mabenas” — code for clueless cops.
What this sorry saga teaches us, though, is that police incompetence is beginning to affect everybody.
We also know that some police stations have had the ignominy of closing their doors early because they feared local thugs. In fact, we have reported of police stations in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and other parts of the country that have been robbed by criminals who, for the most part, were looking for guns. That these robberies took place at police stations was, itself, a statement these criminals wanted to make about these Mabenas and their capabilities.
But we have not reported, at least not recently, on VIP protection officers who were robbed at gunpoint. The public impression of VIP protection officers is one of hotheaded, blue light flashing and gun-totting officers ready to unleash violence on ordinary people at the slightest provocation on our highways.
Deputy president Paul Mashatile, whose protectors are out on bail, understands this better.
But the sheepish, ready for slaughter types, we have not seen. The police will obviously not tell us how their trained officers were outwitted. They have, predictably, told us a manhunt was under way as if much must be expected of it.
What this sorry saga teaches us, though, is that police incompetence is beginning to affect everybody. It’s not only the mere mortals of Garankuwa who must endure police who are fearful of criminals, but it’s also cabinet members who must wonder if their protectors will stand the test should an opportunity arise. This is good and bad at once. It’s good that those who live in a protected bubble get a semblance of the horrors ordinary people go through on a daily basis. The hope is that such exposure may force our out-of-touch politicians to prioritise quality service for all. This might mean quality policing, health services, education and general upkeep of our roads and other amenities. This is, after all, part of what a better life for all is.
But, of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. There shouldn’t be a rude awakening for ministers to find out what the hell the rest of us are subjected to. All criminal acts, even those perpetrated against politicians and the police, are abhorred.
Where the police say: “VIP protection is one of the key priority areas for the SAPS and has been undertaken with excellence over the years,” what they actually mean is they don’t know how, despite this purported excellence, they still managed to drop the ball. We must be grateful the minister’s life was spared. Many ordinary people subjected to traumatic robberies after spiking incidents on the highways were not so lucky. Examples are too many to enumerate. We hope this incident is a major wake-up call. Many ordinary people have been subjected to unimaginable police failure. We hope cabinet colleagues engage with the police minister differently next time he tells them police are winning the war on crime because the wolf clearly is at the door.
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