In order to defend themselves from trigger-happy criminals, police will use force, according to Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu.
This comes after the widely publicised gun battle in Khayelitsha, Western Cape, between law enforcement and a gang involved in drug trafficking.
Eight members of the gang were shot and killed, and five were arrested during the intense police operation.
It should be remembered, according to Mchunu, that police officers must live in order to serve the nation and refuse to give up to criminals.
Police are not stones
“We want to send a warning that a gang or individuals [to say] if you point a gun and indeed shoot at a police officer, you must not expect that the police are not going to respond to you,” said Mchunu.
“This is on two fronts; they need to defend themselves. Police are human beings; they are not stones. They are the parents of their children.
“On the second front, they need to survive so that they can defend the community against another criminal tomorrow.”
He said that in addition to this, the department has started a nationwide investigation into any possible illegal military camps located throughout the country.
Following the discovery of an illegal camp at White River by Mpumalanga police, 95 Libyan nationals were arrested and are currently being held.
He said that this demonstrated the need for cooperation among all departments in order to prevent both legal and illegal foreign nationals from entering the country with the intent to destroy it.
Collaboration with the BMA
“We are going to have to meet as the SAPS [SA Police Service] with the Border Management Authority [BMA].
“We think that if this meeting were to take place and an agreement was reached, we would have better dispensation in terms of border management once we operated on the basis of that agreement.”
The South African economy cannot expand, according to Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Njabulo Nzuza, if the borders are not properly guarded.
The BMA falls under Nzuza’s department.
Nzuza emphasised that the main source of concern was the Beitbridge border post.
He pledged that his department would collaborate closely with law enforcement to prevent any illicit goods from entering the nation through customs.
“There is going to be an upgrade of the six points of entry into a one-stop border post that will support the Africa Free Trade Area and also make sure that the movement of goods is easy, and we might be able to catch all the illegal goods that are coming into the country,” said Nzuza.
