Metro cops ready for riot control
Metro police launch three armoured Nyalas for public order policing.
The Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) on Wednesday unveiled three armoured vehicles to be used in public order policing and riot control.
The three vehicles, called RG-12 Nyalas, were purchased from state-owned defence giant Denel at a cost of R6, 901, 566.84.
They have a top speed of 120 km/h and feature bulletproof glass.
They will be operated by a newly-formed special unit within the TMPD trained by the public order policing unit in 2014.
The unit consists of 10 members.
Though these Nyalas have been launched shortly before election time, TMPD chief Steven Ngobeni insisted that no unrest was expected.
“Come election time, we will be ready. We are confident in our preparations, even though we do not expect violence.”
He said if any violence cropped up during the election, the Nyalas would be used to quell trouble.
TMPD spokesperson senior superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the Nyalas was bought to help the metro police deal with land invasions.
“The TMPD finds itself having to respond to and prevent incidents of land invasion, especially city-owned land. It is often the case that responding to incidents of land invasion requires the use of minimum force as allowed by the law,” said Mahamba.
“This cannot be executed using ordinary vehicles, which have often been damaged by demonstrators.”
Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa said the vehicles would not only help to deter violence, but also keep TMPD officers safe in the line of duty.
“The safety of our officers is of the utmost importance,” he said.
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