DURBAN - Police Minister Bheki Cele expressed concern over xenophobia and revealed that SAPS was investigating “Operation Dudula”.
Speaking at a police briefing in Durban on Thursday, Cele sounded the alarm on the possibility of Dudula resulting in xenophobic violence.
The Daily News had previously reported on a poster circulating on social media, in which the movement demands that South Africans be employed over foreign nationals in major retail shops. The group in Joburg “raided” the home of an elderly man in Soweto on Sunday and accused him of drug dealing.
EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo opened a criminal case against the group’s leader, Nhlanhla Lux, prompting a confrontation between the EFF and the movement’s supporters.
Cele said the Constitution provided for any group or private citizen to protest, but it shouldn’t be to the detriment of other people.
“The Constitution gives every citizen the right to march or protest without getting permission from the police. However, this Operation Dudula has no business entering people’s homes; even the SAPS needs a warrant to search properties. The police are investigating the conduct of the people in the movement over what happened in Johannesburg,” Cele said.
Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said the SAPS had held meetings in response to reports of the movement’s planned march to the Durban CBD on Sunday.
“We have held two meetings with the leaders of the group to hear what exactly they want to do. We made them aware of the law and what it says about entering other people’s premises or anywhere else … Criminality is to be fought by the police and the community.
“A collaboration between law enforcement and other bodies is in place to ensure that violence does not break out during the march,” Mkhwanazi said.
Cele also revealed that an overtime budget of R62 million had been set aside to address the issue of DNA backlogs.
He said 16 contracts had been completed in the process of implementing a solution for the DNA backlogs, both in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
“There are two main laboratories in South Africa; one in Pretoria and the other in Cape Town. We also have two others, in eManzimtoti and Gqeberha, which are under construction to ease the burden on the two main ones.
“The volume in production for KZN is very low, leading to the relocation of some staff to help speed up other provinces. As such, there is a provision of R62m more to help with overtime.
“In addition, there is a plan to have a second site here next to Moses Mabhida Stadium, in partnership with the Department of Public Works and the eThekwini Municipality.”
Cele was in the province on Thursday, along with members of the Executive Council for a two-day meeting. The delegation also visited a number of police stations.
He said the visits were an important aspect of the ministry’s work, and that he sought to make it a tradition after the quarterly release of crime statistics.
The stations, he said, were part of the top 30 most affected by crime in the country. Among his concerns were the gender-based-violence desks, which seemed dysfunctional, the keeping of firearms, as well as the state of police vehicles.
Daily News