Is Police Minister Bheki Cele’s ego more important than cybercrime victims, asks DA

Police Minister Bheki Cele. File photo: Jonisayi Maromo / ANA

Police Minister Bheki Cele. File photo: Jonisayi Maromo / ANA

Published May 17, 2020

Share

Cape Town – If Police Minister Bheki Cele is serious about fighting cybercrime, he should start by properly capacitating the unit charged with investigating it before focusing on his "own vanity projects", the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.

The SAPS had launched a probe into 160 fake social media accounts impersonating Cele, while other fraud investigations against businesses and the public were placed on hold, DA National Council of Provinces MP for security and justice George Michalakis said in a statement.

Since the coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown started on March 27, real cybercrime affecting the public had exponentially increased, exposing individuals and businesses that were already under economic strain to online fraud and other crimes, he said.

In response to a 2019 parliamentary question, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation's (Hawks) cybercrime unit, now investigating Cele’s fake profiles, had 937 cases referred to it with a total fraud value of R7.9 billion, while only 178 of these cases could be successfully prosecuted with a total fraud value of only R23 million.

"Despite very capable police officers within the unit, it is grossly under-funded, under-resourced, lacking sufficient cyber forensic capacity, and struggles to fulfil its obligations while retaining well-trained investigators within its ranks," Michalakis said.

Furthermore, with the Cyber Crimes Bill not yet passed by Parliament, it was hard to see how these crimes would be prosecuted for spreading false news where a prior qualification was made that such an account was a parody account.

"The only reason why fake accounts of a fake Cele making ludicrous statements would be believable is because the minister himself has been no stranger to making ludicrous statements in the past, not least during the lockdown.

"If Cele is serious about fighting cybercrimes, he should start by properly capacitating the unit charged with investigating it, so that they can do their jobs in the interest of the public, before focusing on the minister’s own vanity projects.

"I will continue to demand of the department and the minister, as I have been doing for the past five years, to adequately fund and capacitate this unit so that ordinary South Africans falling victim to real cyber crimes can have the same justice that Cele claims for himself," Michalakis said.

African News Agency (ANA)

Related Topics: