Police Minister redeploys commanders in Krugersdorp
"The real culprits, the few officers who are in bed with criminals, remain untouched and roam free on the West Rand and we want the Minister to remove them."
After the chaos in Krugersdorp on Monday, 22 January, National Police minister, Fikile Mbalula, and his team of executives have replaced the commanders of the Krugersdorp, West Rand Cluster and Kagiso Police Stations.
These commanders were, according to a statement released by the Krugersdorp Community Policing Forum (CPF), replaced by other capable commanders and will now be redeployed to other areas.
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This formed part of Mbalula’s plan to take back Mogale City from the drug lords, said an announcement he made yesterday, 29 January.
This ‘reshuffling’ of police management did not sit well with the CPF.
“While we recognise these redeployments as police operational matters, we place on record that neither the community at large nor the CPF as community representative was engaged in this matter and that we do not agree with the Minister’s chosen course of action,” said Gert Jonker, chairperson of the Krugersdorp CPF.
“We also place on record that these redeployments will not change the status quo of policing on the West Rand. They will merely destabilise community/ police relationships.
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The real culprits, the few officers who are in bed with the criminals, remain untouched and roam free on the West Rand and we want the Minister to remove them.”
He urged Mbalula to implement a Drug Task Team to ensure drug-related crimes are policed.
The CPF also feels that the Municipality and Department of Home Affairs should be included in the strategic plans.
They said “… hear our plight, and the plight of our children who are being killed by drugs and whose lives are being destroyed by prostitution and human trafficking. We also ask the Minister to appoint a task team to investigate the alleged collusion with criminals by law enforcement officials.”
The CPF urged the police to immediately fill vacant posts and equip them with vehicles and other tools to do their work effectively.
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