The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape conducted an oversight inspection of the Tsineng police station today, following a recent armed robbery on Saturday, whereby firearms and ammunition were stolen.
It is deeply concerning that the already under-resourced police station, meant to protect residents in 43 surrounding villages, saw it robbed of three R5 rifles with two magazines and 37 rounds of ammunition, two 12-bore pump actions with 103 rounds of ammunition, eight 9 mm pistols with five magazines and 98 rounds of ammunition.
I have been briefed that the Acting Northern Cape SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Major General Joey Kers, visited the station on Sunday to obtain a full report on the incident. It is expected that the National Deputy Commissioner of Policing, Deputy Commissioner Lt. Gen Masemola, will today also visit the station.
It is disconcerting that no arrests have been made at this stage. We do, however, note that a multi-disciplinary investigative team, from the HAWKS and Tactical Unit, is on the ground to bring the perpetrators of this act to book.
I am further concerned by attempts by National Police Minister, Bheki Cele, to downplay the robbery on national television today. While Cele said that reports of looming attacks on police stations and ammunition depots is fake news, this doesn’t make the incident any less serious.
The fact that it was just a small police station that was attacked, with no more than three police officers assigned to it, also doesn’t make the threat any less serious, as Cele seemed to imply. Afterall, there are a great number of small, understaffed police stations in this province and in the country.
An attack on a police station is an attack on the state and it would be a mistake for Cele, the police and the security cluster to view the robbery as anything less.
The DA strongly condemns this act. We hope that SAPS and all law enforcement agencies will treat this matter with the urgency and seriousness that is needed. Even more so now, given the precarious position that the country finds itself in.