Cape Town – ’’If the ANC government cannot enforce its own regulations, then they must scrap it altogether.’’
This was the damning verdict of the DA after the ’’inaction of the police’’ at former president Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead at the weekend.
The DA believes the lack of action ’’just demonstrated to every single South African that the minister and his cronies in the ANC government do not care about people... being all too happy to enforce these regulations on multitudes of vulnerable citizens who do not have political connections’’, leaving them with criminal records.
It has called on Police Minister Bheki Cele to take action against those demonstrators that flagrantly violated level 4 lockdown regulations outside Nkandla, in full view of multiple news cameras that broadcasted their defiance to the world.
’’These supporters of former president Jacob Zuma were allowed to gather in large numbers without any apparent social distancing, and with many of them not wearing their masks in full view of police officers who did little to enforce these lockdown regulations,’’ said DA police spokesperson Okkie Terblanche.
’’Despite the minister himself and his South African Police Service (SAPS) officials being all too happy to enforce these regulations on multitudes of vulnerable citizens who do not have political connections.
’’These ordinary South Africans now hold criminal records for such serious crimes as buying formula for their sick newborn or darting onto a beach to fetch their toddler – police time well-spent.
He said the only thing the ANC cares about are ’’votes and power as it affords them plenty of opportunities of enrichment through corruption. People are only there to be cannon fodder in the political ploys of the ANC’’.
The DA also noted that Cele and national police commissioner General Kehla Sithole have written to the Constitutional Court indicating that they will not be taking any action against Zuma until his current litigation has been finalised or until such time that the Constitutional Court directs them otherwise.
’’This decision by the minister smacks of another attempt to avoid enforcing the Constitutional Court’s order that Zuma should be arrested if he failed to hand himself over.
’’Clearly Minister Cele is reluctant to arrest his comrade, but his duty to the rule of law and the country should far outweigh his loyalty to a corrupt former president seeking to avoid paying for his many crimes.’’
IOL