DESPITE Kempton Park SAPS making 316 drug-related busts in 191 raids in 2015, only four of these led to convictions.
This shocking statistic was revealed by the Minister of Justice, Michael Masutha, in a parliamentary answer to a question posed by the DA.
Refiloe Nt’sekhe, constituency head Kempton Park and Tembisa, in a statement said: “The DA calls on Justice Minister Michael Masutha to investigate why there is such a low conviction rate on drug-related charges in Kempton Park.
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“Following the DA’s drug awareness march in August 2015, we held two public meetings to update the community of Kempton Park on the memorandum that was handed over to Kempton Park SAPS. The police are, however, unable to answer questions about conviction rates as this lies in the jurisdiction of the courts which reports to the justice department,” she said.
Request to attend meeting to discuss the way forward
“The objective of the August 2015 march was to highlight the challenges Kempton residents face because of drugs taking over our streets, and also to form a better working relationship between the police and DA ward councillors, Jaco Terblanche and Tracey Butler, who share the CBD area of Kempton Park.
“I call on Minister Masutha to investigate why there is such a low conviction rate on drug-related charges and what the contributing factors are to such low charges.”
