The relationship between police and the public they serve is a delicate, often fractious one. Trust is paramount and any further disappointments deeply hamper efforts to build a special bond.
Two high ranking police officials were arrested yesterday and appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrates Court today, 28 October. Shockingly, the court revealed that one of the arrested Brigadiers is the incumbent Station Commander of Roodepoort Police, Brigadier Zoleka Khuboni.
“The Brigadiers have been arrested for their alleged involvement in fraud, defeating the administration of justice and contravention of the Firearms Control Act (Act 60/2000) in multiple case dockets in the areas of Edenvale, Kempton Park and Norwood in the province of Gauteng,” confirmed National Police spokesperson, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo.
Police revealed that the arrests were part of an ongoing operation that began almost three years ago involving Western Cape firearms applications processed in Gauteng. It is reported that multiple connected individuals fraudulently obtained firearm licenses in Cape Town via police stations in Johannesburg and a gun shop in Kempton Park.
National Police Commissioner, General Khehla John Sitole reassured the public that all departments were working to eradicate corruption, saying, “We are systematically identifying and routing out corruption and corrupt members from the police”. He continued, “I am again urging both members of the police, as well as the community at large to refrain from engaging in such activities because you will be caught”.
Heleen Rossouw, journalist at the Kempton Express, attended court proceedings and confirmed that Kempton Park Station Commander, Brigadier Samuel Maredi, was the second of the two arrested police officials. Both have been granted R3 000 bail and the matter has been postponed to 26 February 2021.
