KZN premier's R14m Christmas gift to bolster police's fight against crime

Mkhwanazi said it was disturbing that most crimes were organised from prison

The killing of three officers in KwaZulu-Natal on duty at the weekend highlights the challenges facing police in the fight against crime in the province, says provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

He was speaking on Tuesday during the handover of 36 vehicles worth more than R14m donated by the provincial government to bolster crime-fighting efforts.

Mpumalanga policemen, station commander Sgt Danasagren Naveen Pather and Dumisani Ndlovu, 56, were killed during a shoot-out with criminals at a funeral in Cliffdale on Saturday.

In a separate incident, Capt Mandla Khubisa, 58, was killed on Saturday in the King Cetshwayo district while attending to a house robbery in Esikhaleni.

“The unfortunate part is the war. There is a group of people in this province who are blood thirsty. They don’t care. Whether they rob you, rape, whatever they do, they don’t bother, they will kill if they can,” said Mkhwanazi.

Mkhwanazi said it was disturbing to note that most crimes were organised from prison.

“They are those with free access to those in prisons. There is quite a lot of crime organised from there. It makes us wonder as a security cluster if really prisons do help,” said Mkhwanazi.

He said the police were trying to equip members with survival skills and equipment so when they face hardened criminals they are able to fight back.

“It’s a war that we are busy with. Unfortunately, it’s a war not waged against the citizens, but a war we are taking to the criminals. Until criminals and we reconcile and put our arms down, we will [continue to see many deaths].”

“A death of a person is not something you can celebrate, whether a police officer or a normal person,” said Mkhwanazi.

His says came as premier Thami Ntuli said community-reported serious crime statistics from July to September showed a slight increase compared to September 2023.

A total of 60,666 cases were reported and 20,794 people were arrested for crimes under this category. He said eight police stations — Durban central, Phoenix, Chatsworth, Plessisslaer, Inanda, Verulam, Empangeni and Pinetown contributed to the most cases.

He said there was also a slight increase of 1.5% in attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and common assault. Murder decreased by 175 cases, translating to a 10.9% drop while sexual assault cases decreased by 2%.

“A total of 1,428 cases of murder were registered of which 71 cases were multiple murders, and police made 558 arrests” said Ntuli.

While this category of crime indicated an overall decrease in the province, 10 of the districts saw a spike in figures, with arguments, robbery, vigilantism and retaliation, revenge or punishment mainly in rural areas and townships being the motive.

“Women victims numbered 186 and 77 were children. These figures are down on the second quarter 2023/2024,” said Ntuli.

He said the community safety and liaison department conducts regular station evaluation and monitoring to assess the functionality of all 184 police stations across the province.

“Part of their findings during these assessments points out a common challenge of a notable shortage of vehicles needed by law enforcement officers to carry out their responsibilities.

The provincial executive council made a decision to assist the police by donating vehicles which will be distributed to identified police stations across the province to enhance law enforcement capacity,” said Ntuli.

He said while it was common knowledge the government was operating under austerity measures due to the financial constraints, the provincial government had prioritised funds to fight crime.

He said law enforcement has augmented deployment of police officers and resources at identified crime hotspot areas throughout the province.

“We are especially pleased to announce that 656 new police constables will be deployed to various police stations across the province. They will report for duty on Friday,” said NtNtuli.

He said 198 road traffic inspectorate traffic officers and 467 authorised officers together with 124 constables metro police officers will be enforcing the law during the festive season.

“Integrated law enforcement operations will be conducted on a regular basis. We are closing ranks and sending a clear message that any lawlessness will not be tolerated,” said Ntuli.

“We have also called for increased police visibility at areas that have been engulfed by deadly faction fights in our province. We are aware that many might see this festive season as an opportune time to co-ordinate revenge attacks as many have returned to be with their families during the holidays,” said Ntuli.

A special focus would be on the areas mainly affected by faction fights, including Nongoma, Kwanqgulu (Nquthu), Loskop (Estcourt) and St Paul (uMzimkhulu)

“This is to ensure that there will be no loss of lives as a result of faction fight during this festive season and beyond,” said Ntuli.

He commended Mkhwanazi for including spaza shops inspections and raids in their festive season safety plans.

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