“Every time Minister Bheki Cele opens his mouth and speaks numbers, he doesn’t mention that it is someone’s mother, a sister, a grandfather, an aunt, an uncle or brother that was yet again killed,” said Ian Cameron, director of community safety at Action Society. “When I think of that minister, I want to mention names, so those people don’t just become statistics.”
Action Society joined various organisations in the DA’s march to support replacing Bheki Cele, in Pretoria today.
During his speech, Cameron highlighted some of the names of murder victims to distinguish between the statistics of Cele and people affected by crime.
“When I think of Cele, I remember Aqeela Schroeder – 15 years old – another child shot dead on the Cape Flats,” he said. “Five-year-old Ofentse Pupedi, dismembered in Tembisa, and his mutilated body found a few weeks later. The two matriculants from KZN, Ngobeli Zulu and Menetle Buthelezi, were axed, chopped up and dismembered.”
When comparing the four years before Cele became the Minister of Police and the time he’s been the Minister, the murder rate increased from 53 per day to 61 murders per day. The rate of rape did not show a decrease either and still stands at five rapes per hour. In Action Society’s view, those are statistics of an incompetent minister.
“Instead of showboating around the country, Bheki Cele should pack up his hat and go sit somewhere quiet trying to remember that for most South Africans, these are not numbers, but loved ones with names,” said Cameron.
Follow this link to support Action Society’s petition to sack Cele, with more than 120 000 signatures.
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