Wyndham Hartley
13 November 2009
Cape Town — An unapologetic Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has defended his and other ministers' statements of "shoot to kill" and said it was unavoidable that bystanders would be killed in the crossfire between police and criminals.
Mbalula's comments yesterday come after controversial shootings in which a young woman and a three- year-old child were killed by police in recent weeks.
Many commentators have linked the shootings to the increasingly intemperate urgings of politicians that police should shoot to kill.
Addressing the parliamentary press gallery, Mbalula said civilians would inevitably be killed but this would not be done deliberately. The recent number of deaths at the hands of the police could not be blamed on the repeated calls by the police ministry to shoot to kill.
Mbalula insisted the message could not be sent to police that they should retreat in the face of violent crime: "Yes, shoot the bastards!"
Mbalula also lambasted what he called "armchair critics" of the statements made by himself and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and renewed his attack on African National Congress (ANC) veteran Kader Asmal.
"In the recent past we have been singled out and accused of recklessness. There have been various issues that have been put within the public discourse to ridicule us about the tough stance we have taken in the fight against crime.
"The overwhelming victory of the ANC at the polls was a ringing endorsement of our commitment to take the war to the criminals," Mbalula said.
Referring to Asmal's criticism of him, he said: "There is more to Prof Asmal's newly found dimension of popularity than meets the eye.
"I'm referring to an apparent vulgarised notion of eldership which seeks to stifle radical criticism and policy positions, particularly from the younger generation, and to project a fallacy of absolute wisdom which is masqueraded as intellectualism."
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Police in the US are not trained in how to shoot effectively in close quarters life threat situations. That's a fact, and supported by a mis rate of more than 80% in gunfights.
No doubt that or similar conditions exist in SA.
With an emphasis on training on how to shoot in real life threat situations, plus an emphasis on the responsibilities that go with the job of a peace officer, would do much to make new legislation moot. (See http://www.pointshooting.com/iwin.htm for an article on How 2 Shoot 2 Kill More effectively)
It probably is a money savings ploy.
Giving anyone the authority to act without responsibility, seems to be a bit irresponsible.
Congratulations to Commandant Bheki Cele. That is the right step and action to the right directions. You must enforce law and order with out any fear for Human Rights whatsover. If those in the human rights arena want to bark, they should first tell the criminals,burglars, and armed robbers to desist from attacking peaceful citizens. As the saying goes, "A strong illness needs a powerful cure"
Bheki Cele comes across as an ignorant and incompetent thug, a criminal with power! South African society needs to be healed from the generations of destruction caused by the racist and criminal invaders still occupying African space.
Until fundamental land, economic and social problems are solved favorably for African people, the more police violence will ONLY INCREASE VIOLENCE in South Africa!
South Africa needs LESS VIOLENCE not more violence, from police thugs or from criminals!
All law-abiding citizens in SA would welcome a more efficient police force and a drastic reduction in crime. But Cele is saying irresponsible things here. First get the police force trained and modernized before creating the impression that policemen can shoot left right and centre. If Cele feels strongly about the low value of life, then rather bring back the death penalty and let a proper court decide when a life can be taken away. As things stand now, even if the police manages to arrest a perpetrator, things seem to go very wrong after that. Very few criminals actually get arrested, the judicial system is not streamlined enough and if the criminal eventually gets a jail sentence, he is stuffed into an overcrowded jail where there seems to be very little chance of rehabilitation. This whole thing is much more complex to solve than simply giving a "shoot to kill" instruction. Cele is making the police more vulnerable which will add to their already high levels of stress. Above all, SA cannot afford to become synonymous with a jungle environment.
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