Durban - KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, has vowed to “throw the book” at a policeman facing attempted murder charges after he was allegedly found with a stolen vehicle at the weekend.
According to police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, the 41-year-old suspect was an off-duty constable from the Inanda Tactical Response Team.
Naicker said members of a vehicle tracking company picked up the signal of a stolen vehicle in Jacobs on Friday and tracked it to Verulam, where it was pulled over.
The “cornered” driver then pointed his firearm at the tracking company employees who opened fire on him.
“The suspect was shot twice in the shoulder. He was later arrested by members of the SAPS and is under police guard in hospital. His state firearm has been seized as well as the Toyota Hilux LDV he was driving,” Naicker said.
Ngobeni expressed her “disgust” at the alleged conduct of the policeman.
“I am extremely disappointed to hear of yet another member involved in criminal activity. We will not tolerate police officers who are criminals themselves. Disciplinary processes will be immediately initiated,” she pledged.
Earlier this year policeman Christopher Gumbi, 48, based in Zululand, was arrested on Thursday in a sting operation by the Durban Organised Crime Unit, Specialised Task Force, Crime Intelligence and the Nyathi Anti- Poaching Unit in the Mkhuze area.
Gumbi, a Crime Intelligence Unit officer, was allegedly found in possession of two rhino horns in Jozini last week. He appeared in court on Friday
The incidents have raised the ire of opposition political parties which have demanded that Ngobeni makes public the number of police officers facing criminal charges.
The IFP’s parliamentary leader, Blessed Gwala, said it was alarming that SAPS members, who were supposed to enforce the law, were involved in corruption and fraud.
It was in the public interest to know how many KZN police officers had been charged, he said.
Gwala said the public was rapidly losing its trust in the SAPS. He said the IFP would table its demand at the provincial parliament next month. He said Ngobeni should acknowledge there were bad police officers within the ranks who hindered investigations and stalled important police work.
“It will become increasingly difficult for law-abiding citizens to trust our law enforcers, due to reports that some of them are in cahoots with criminals in various illegal activities,” Gwala said.
“The commissioner should also be bold enough and remove bad cops from the force by ensuring their cases are fast-tracked in court.”
Gwala lambasted the ruling party for its cadre deployment policy when hiring people with no experience to head the police force.
He said the IFP would submit parliamentary questions for scrutiny and debate to determine what steps will be taken to prevent criminals infiltrating the police service and ensure that criminal officers are immediately dismissed.
“There are people who have never been qualified to head senior positions in the police force... It shows that the rot starts from the top and filters down to the bottom,” Gwala said.
“Government should rethink cadre deployment policy. This is not an issue of government alone but a summit should be called to come up with a solution.”
He said it was dangerous for trainees and new recruits eager to do their jobs to be supervised by corrupt police.
The DA’s spokeswoman on policing matters, MP Dianne Kohler Barnard, blamed the scourge on the “weak leadership” by the national commissioner. She said it was ridiculous that 1 448 convicted police officers across the country were still in their posts.
“Most of them have been promoted through the ranks. The number keeps increasing every now and then because of the weak system. It is a massive problem. The commissioner is not taking this seriously,” she said.
Daily News