By Anita Dangazele
The police minister and commissioner are in the Eastern Cape on a two-day visit to the province’s crime hotspots – the OR Tambo district and the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.
On Thursday, the visit kicked off at the OR Tambo District Hall in Mthatha, where Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu and SAPS commissioner General Fannie Masemola heard the lived experiences of residents in the crime-ridden communities of Mthatha and surrounding areas.
Masemola said it was clear that SAPS interventions to fight crime in the area before the 29 May elections were not enough.
“So today, the current minister, Mr Senzo Mchunu, is here to listen to you as stakeholders and the most important people we serve. So tell him what it is that is troubling you in Mthatha, as that will inform our further plans as to what else we can do to fight crime in this area,” he said.
Masemola said organised crime was so rife in Mthatha that even the criminal justice system was compromised.
“The crime here in Mthatha is organised, and it’s organised right through even within the criminal justice system. So that is what we’re here to unentangle with our other colleagues within the justice cluster,” Masemola said.
He also touched on the rising incidents of kidnappings for ransom within the province – saying police were up to the task.
According to the Eastern Cape crime statistics report released by transport and community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha in March 2024, Mthatha is both the murder and rape capital of the province.
The town occupies the second spot in the country for rape, with 83 incidents reported between October and December 2023.
Pictured above: Police Minister Senzo Mchunu sitting alongside Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
Source: X
