Police union: Police killings are direct attack on state
The South African Policing Union (Sapu) says it’s concerned about the spike in police killings over the past couple of weeks.
The union says government must declare war against criminals who take the lives of police officers.
Sapu spokesperson Oscar Skommere says criminals get away with murder and government needs to tighten the law.
“We are concerned with regard to the fact that members of the South African police are killed on a daily basis and this is a concern which creates a kind of fear on family of these members, fear on some the police members who try by all means to put a strong face every day, every night when they have to go and report for duty with the understanding that it might be the last.
“It’s like the government of the day is not really putting much in terms of really put laws which will the protect the police officers every day when they perform their duties.
He adds: “We are saying law makers must strengthen the current laws – when you are found to have killed a police you must not be given bail, you must not be given parole if it happens that you are convicted, and you must be given strict, strict directives that this person must rot and die in jail.”
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Two other people have also been injured. Western Cape police Brigadier Novela Potelwa says the deceased were between the ages of 30 and 40. Two other people were injured and rushed to a medical facility. ALSO READ: Residents in the north of Tshwane can get on the trains once again, albeit in a limited service.
He believes not enough attention is shone on the plight of the men and women in blue.
“When police officers are being killed you don’t hear the noise you heard the other day when the people of Senekal were making noise the way they have made noise calling for those who have killed the farmers,” says Skommere.
“You don’t hear when a police officer is killed any government official condemning that, you don’t see the state flag being instructed to go half-mast in terms of supporting the death of that police officers.”
Skommere adds cop murders are a jab at the state.
“You must know that if you have killed the police officer or if you have touched the police officer, you have touched the state.”
Listen to Skommere below: