More than 200,000 signed petition calling for Cele to be removed from public office

A petition for police minister Bheki Cele to be removed from public office has so far garnered more than 200,000 signatures.

Action Society called for Cele to be removed after surviving the cabinet reshuffle. 

“The minister of police Bheki Cele is not doing his job. He should be putting strategies in place to curb and eradicate crime. However, he spends his days attending funerals with his motorcade, yelling at activists, making insensitive statements about rape and trying to convince us the shocking crime statistics show a decline.

“Not only crime but also the minister is desperately out of control. If Cele had been the CEO of a company, shareholders would have demanded his hat a very long time ago,” said the organisation. 

Its director of community safety, Ian Cameron, criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa for retaining Cele in his cabinet.

“Bheki Cele survives the cabinet reshuffle. No surprise. The ‘Don’ continues his rule. The ANC has zero interest in stopping crime. An effective criminal justice system means their criminal dealings would be further uncovered. Cele’s sacking isn’t the only solution but a start,” said Cameron. 

“Bheki Cele and Cyril Ramaphosa are a match made in heaven for a party wanting to lead the world with the highest rates of murder and rape.”

Cameron said Action Society, along with other experts in crime fighting, had offered solutions to the crime situation in the past, the top of the list being getting rid of Cele. 

“That Bheki Cele remains safely in his position as minister of police, despite all his failures and shortcomings, shows that the government has no intention to end crime in South Africa,” he said. 

“President Ramaphosa’s legacy will not be that he turned around South Africa for the better. His legacy will be that 84 people lost their lives through murder today as he was protecting his relationship with Bheki Cele.”

Previously, the SA Police Service (SAPS) responded to DA calls for Cele to be axed for failing to combat crime, reduce murders and protect women and children from gender-based violence (GBV). 

Speaking on CapeTalk, SAPS spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said: “We take our cues in the police ministry from what the president mentioned in his Q&A, where he basically [said] he has absolute confidence in the minister's approach, but also the minister's ability to lead the organisation.”

According to Themba, Cele travels the country regularly for updates on various issues.

“It is under the minister's leadership that every police station has a gender-based violence desk. This speaks to the dedication of trying to provide much-needed services for victims,” she said. 

TimesLIVE conducted a poll asking readers if Cele should be shown the door.

The majority (45%) said the minister must go for failing South Africans, while 50% said the entire policing system needs to be transformed.

Five percent said Cele should not be axed, but that police officers must be held more accountable.