JOHANNESBURG - The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) spokesperson Richard Mamabolo has spoken out on the ongoing issue of police killings, highlighting the gravity of the situation just a week after two police officers were killed on duty in Ivory Park.
Mamabolo commented on the emotional and professional toll that attacks have on officers and their loved ones.
Statistics reveal the frequency and severity of these incidents, with a growing public concern about the safety of those tasked with protecting the nation.
The ongoing loss of life not only affects morale but also raises questions about the broader implications for community security and public trust in the police.
"This is something that happens on a regular basis. We’ve seen with the statistics that are released on regular basis that it is a major concern because these are men and women in blue who got a sole responsibility to keep South Africa safe. This has got an impact on their morale and their families as well," states Mamabolo.
“We have been raising this concern with different ministers and different commissioners from the SAPS… which led to us coming to the conclusion that perhaps this should be considered treason because it is an act against the state.”
Mamabolo added that the sector needed better laws to protect officers. Resources are also a point of contention.
“One of the challenges we have in the SAPS is the allocation of resources. At any given time when you go to rural or township police stations, especially at night, you find that there are only about four police officers available for a huge number of community members and sometimes they are targeted because they are easily marked and hardly have any backup”.
Mamabolo also emphasised the importance of providing adequate benefits for officers who are killed or injured in the line of duty.
“Police die in their line of duty, get injured or killed for their firearms and these are some of the complexities we looked into and we proposed that there should be some form of death insurance amongst law officers which will help benefit them when they die or get injured while on duty.” This, he explained, would ensure that officers and their families receive vital support when facing such tragedies.
Impact of police killings on families
Masebotsana Manthata, a relative of one of the slain Ivory Park officers, expressed her devastation and a diminishing faith in law enforcement.
"This came as a shock to the family, especially to the wife, who is heavily pregnant and now has to live and take responsibility for the kids on her own,” Manthata said.
“My cousin was very dedicated to his work, but he was also aware of the dangers in the force. Every time he left for work, he would tell us that should we one day receive a call from his work, we should know something bad had happened."
Manthata explained that her cousin has warned family members against a career in the SAPS.
"When some of the family members would ask him for SAPS posts, he would advise them to look in different paths because he knew the dangers of the police force," she added.
Manthata described her cousin as someone who loved and cherished his family, but who took his work very seriously when it came to criminals.
- Simphiwe Khumalo