editorial comment
It’s high noon for Police Minister Bheki Cele as the Easter holidays clock ticks slowly towards his promised showdown with those responsible for the murder of former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper, Senzo Meyiwa.
The residents of the suburb of Mzamo Acres, in Vosloorus, where Senzo was gunned down under mysterious circumstances five years ago, also wait in anticipation for the arrest of the suspect or suspects responsible for his killing. He was killed at the home of his lover, Kelly Khumalo, a well-known singer. Cele boldly declared in public earlier this year that Meyiwa’s killers would be behind bars by Easter or before the end of the year.
As we approach the holidays, Cele is expected to come out guns blazing. Knowing his robust cowboy tactics, the killers of Meyiwa will not stand a chance against Cele’s firepower.
I have no doubt the residents of Kathorus will be more than happy to finally have the identity of the killer or killers exposed. Meanwhile, the rest of the country’s football fraternity holds its breath as they wait to find out who really nipped Meyiwa’s life in the bud at the prime of his soccer career.
ALSO READ:
Since his death, a lot of speculative rumour about who killed him has been bandied around on all media platforms. Names have been mentioned, and a variety of motives suggested. But nothing sticks, nor has there been any motive identified.
The seemingly continued lack of assertiveness by the police to any conclusive resolution to the murder case has cast a dark shadow over the credibility of the country’s policing system. There have been reckless and irresponsible utterances by senior police officers, including former police minister, Fikile Mbalula.
Despite raising the nation’s hopes towards the end of his term as minister, that the arrest of killers was imminent, Mbalula later reneged, shattering the dead soccer star’s parents hopes of ever receiving justice for their murdered son.
And as the case continued to drag, respect for law and order in the public’s eyes took a nosedive. The criminal’s logic seem to see this as a sign of weakness on the part of the police, that justice can be manipulated.
Cele needs to honour his promise to the nation. He needs to bring to a finality the Meyiwa’s matter. If he were to do that, he would have killed two birds with one stone. He would restored the jaded trust people have in the men and women in blue. He would also send a message to criminals that the law has a long arm.
ASLO READ:
Drinking leads to other crimes
The time for law enforcement officers pussy-footing on crime should be a thing of the past. The length of time it has taken for the police to solve the Meyiwa’s murder will remain a dark stain on the image of the SAPS. One can only wish that no family in South Africa, black or white, would ever have to go through what Sam Meyiwa (Senzo’s father) and his family had to endure in search for justice for their murdered son.
We applaud Cele’s determination to bring Meyiwa’s killer or killers to book. As the old English adage goes, it is only when good men and women opt to be silent that justice and fairness are abused.
By standing up against injustice and mayhem, Cele will restore faith many law abiding citizens have lost in our police system. And as the Easter vocations draw closer, and Cele’s high noon with killers become a certainty, let us all hope the teeth of suspects will begin to gnash.
With Cele’s guns now oiled and ready, let the countdown to the high-noon begin. May Cele win the day.
ALSO READ:
Top cop vows to solve Senzo killing
Municipal by-laws remain A foreign concept
Municipal by-laws are proving to be a complicated and misunderstood foreign concept to most people living in the townships. As a result, this has led the EMPD by-laws enforcement officers on the ground to be over-stretched and inundated with repetitive work.
The lack of understanding of the basic rules governing residential areas, needs to be taken up in earnest as an educational campaign by the authorities. Many of the people who live in townships should, through these campaigns, be informed why by-laws are important.
By embarking on such educational campaign, the EMPD’s by-laws enforcement units will be taking the first step towards eradicating rampant violation of the laws in different neighbourhoods. Kathorus MAIL is proud to be involved in trying to spread this campaign, and would like to thank the by-laws unit for the good work despite the challenges they face.
As the lyrics of a popular Negro spiritual declare, “Nobody said the road would be easy”.
ALSO READ:
Parents and Children caught in protocol quandary
Listening to commentators discuss the troubling issue of raising children in post-apartheid South Africa, I think the country’s leaders have a serious problems on their hands.
Parents and grandparents are raising children who have no idea of what it was like, and what it meant to be a child growing up in apartheid South Africa. While today’s post-apartheid children are protected by an array of laws against just about everything and anything one can imagine under the sun, their parents and grandparents, on the other hand, never had it that easy.
Methinks perhaps it’s time to bridge the generation gap.
Follow us on these platforms:
For more #hyperlocal news at your fingertips, visit Boksburg Advertiser, Springs Advertiser, Brakpan Herald, African Reporter and Kathorus Mail.
