‘It’s madness,” said national police commissioner Bheki Cele, shaking his head furiously. “Police officers are fathers, mothers and they have hearts to love. People treat them as if they are ruthless and cold. The number of police already murdered this year is alarming.”
Every Saturday for the past five weeks Cele has flown in the country to attend funerals of members of the police killed in the line of duty.
This week he flew to Cape Town to visit the devastated families of Warrant Officer Girshwin Matthee (39) and student constable Cannon Cloete (23), who were murdered in the early hours of last Sunday in Wallacedene, a teeming informal settlement in the city’s eastern suburbs.
The two men were on patrol when they were approached by a young woman who claimed she had been raped. “She took them to the shack where she said she was raped. As they arrived at the shack, they were both shot in the head.
“To me, it appears to be an ambush. Their service pistols were stolen,” Cele said.
“We need to get to the truth from the young woman, to find out what really happened. She is being questioned, but she is a very young woman and we have to take care of her. We also have a number of leads but we are very sure we will crack the case.”
Just three days before these killings, Captain Sydney Bongani Hlengwa (46) and Constable Zamikhaya Patrick Hlangulela (32) were shot and killed during a raid on a shebeen in Creighton outside Durban.
“This weekend I have to make a choice of which funeral to attend, because they are both being held on the same day,” he said in an interview with the Mail & Guardian in his parliamentary office. Known for his sharp dress sense, Cele did not disappoint. Sporting a navy suit, blue and white striped shirt and black pointed shoes, he stood out from other politicians in the precinct.
But when he dresses for another funeral this weekend he will put on his full ceremonial police uniform. According to police working with him, Cele has insisted that each murdered policeman and woman be given an official police funeral. It is also the first time, they say, that a leader of his stature has tried to attend every funeral.
The fact that 36 police have been killed so far this year does not indicate a significant spike in the number of police killed.
“I think in the last financial year we lost 88 police officers. The previous financial year we lost 110. Looking at it now, the suspicion is the systematic way it is happening,” said Cele.
“Crime is really reducing. It could be the response of criminals to the space being closed by the police. There is that kind of theory. Cash heists and bank robberies are not going down because the Holy Ghost has arrived in the hearts of the criminals. Perhaps they are firing back and feeling the squeeze.”
Police were now more visible on patrols, but the society they worked in was so violent it had become more difficult for them to protect themselves, Cele said.
There was a feeling among the police that the killing of police force members did not get the coverage it deserved, said Cele. Instead, “police brutality” had become a favoured catchword of the press and the public had responded to this by not crying out when police were slain.
Cele said the tragic death of Ficksburg service delivery protester Andries Tatane was not the norm and the perpetrators were facing serious charges.
Elrena van der Spuy, a researcher at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Cape Town, said she was also concerned about the apparent apathy about police killings and the media had an enormous responsibility to raise awareness about the deaths of police.
“The public needs to be educated about the complex business of policing and it is not brought to their attention. Police killings in democratic nations are considered absolutely unacceptable and an affront to the state. But here the public is lukewarm in its response to police deaths,” she said.
“Police killings tell us a lot about the state of policing. For example, the more organised crime networks become, the more police are targeted. It could be that there is an increasing access to firearms. It could be that the police are seen as another gang fighting for turf. It could signify a lack of respect for police.”
The vision of police gaining the support of communities and enjoying the consequent social authority had not been realised in South Africa, Van der Spuy said, and both the police and communities had contributed to this. “We need to start with not laughing at the fact that police get killed.”
Cele said police bosses met this week and would continue to do so, to discuss how to reduce police murders.
Meanwhile, there were enough bullet-proof vests for every policeman. “The problem is usage of these bullet-proof vests. The big argument is that they are not user friendly. We have told station commanders to make sure to use them because they are there for their protection,” he said.
“At every parade in the morning everybody is wearing one but, as they work, they begin to take them off.”
Although most police killed in the line of duty were shot in the head, Cele said some were not wearing their vests when they were shot.
The South African Police Union has called for an urgent summit of all stakeholders to come up with strategies and policies to curb the killings, and is also pushing for tougher legislation to deal with police killers.
Cele said the remarks made by Susan Shabangu, the former deputy safety and security minister, in 2008 that police should “shoot to kill” criminals could not be blamed for the killing of police. “Everybody attributes the ‘shoot to kill’ phrase to Cele, but I never said it,” he said.
“We are policing in the world of a culture of human rights, constitutionality and the rule of law. Where South Africans have a right to protest and march, there are restrictions on what you do. The police must give protection to those that march and the same [protection must go for the] police.”
Partners feel the pain
Candles flickered side by side at the Kraaifontein police station, standing beside framed portraits of the police officers senselessly gunned down last weekend.
A private memorial service was held at the station on Wednesday morning to give angry police, men and women, the opportunity to pay their respects to their fallen colleagues. Clearly shocked by the events that had torn her life apart, the 21-year-old girlfriend of murdered student constable Cannon Cloete was too upset to talk about her boyfriend later that afternoon.
Nataly Hendricks and her son, three month old Tyler, are still in shock and trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of Constable Cannon Cloete. Warrant Officer Girshwin Matthee and Constable Cannon Cloete of the Kraaifontein police station, were both shot and killed whilst responding to a call from the informal settlement, Bloekombos. (David Harrison, M&G)
Nataly Hendrick’s fragile appearance brought tears to the eyes of veteran police men and women. In her arms, she carried her tiny son, Tyler, who was the mirror image of his dad, said his colleagues.
In her home nearby Rochelle Matthee was surrounded by relatives as she tried to cope with her loss.
Girshwin Matthee had been with the police force for 16 years and he was happy his wife was safely working behind a desk in police support services.
His shattered widow will now have to raise their two young children, nine-year-old Chantè and 12-year-old Rochwin, alone and help his daughter by his first relationship, Elizna, 15, as they all come to terms with a life cut short in the most brutal way.