Programme Director
The Bereaved Family of Zulu and Mehlwana
All Relatives, friends and colleagues of the late Busisiwe Mehlwana
MECs and SAPS Management present
Acting SAPS Gauteng Provincial Commissioner
Community and religious leaders present
Ladies and gentlemen
Just yesterday, I was humbled and honoured to be allowed to meet with the family of our late member, Reservist/Constable Busisiwe Mehlwana. The meeting with the family, particularly with Busisiwe’s youngest son, indeed made me realise once again that all of us; as South African Police Service (SAPS) leadership, management and the whole country owe the families of our women and men in blue.
I am sure when the late Busisiwe kissed her children good-bye on that fateful day, walking out to service her country; the children were already looking forward to a welcoming kiss in the evening, and in anticipation that they will see their mother soon.
But, Busisiwe, as any police officer, might have had that nagging feeling inside that made her wonder what was going to be there for her and her colleagues that fateful day. Walking out of the door knowing that she could not know with any degree of certainty what was going to greet her that day.
Yet, as a dedicated police officer who took the oath to serve her country, Busisiwe went out there, taking the risks that are very hard for most of us ordinary people to imagine; risking her life to protect her community.
Risking her life to protect the people she did not know and never met; risking her life for business premises she had never invested in; and indeed risking her life protecting even those she might not have particularly liked.
Yes, Busisiwe went out to serve her country, regrettably she died in the line of duty. Yes, she protected and served; she walked her oath by answering the call. She performed a dangerous and difficult duty in the quest for a safer and stronger Soweto, and died in a hail of bullets from ten heartless and cowardly criminals against one woman!
As the police leadership, I as the Deputy Minister of Police, Minister Mthethwa and Commissioner of Police, General Cele and government as a whole, we are saying enough is enough! We are taking tough and targeted decisions about police officers’ safety, because as it is, there is obvious a greater evil willingness on the part of these criminals to take out a police officer at all costs. It is so vivid that most of these heinous criminals just don’t care; otherwise how do you explain ten armed-to-the-teeth men hailing bullets against one woman?
Earlier in our history there was a culture of respect, even amongst the hardened criminals that, you as a man would never harm a woman; certainly never kill a woman. These days, criminals do not care whether it is a 6-month old baby, an 80-year old elder, or a 33-year old mother of two.
Well, we as SAPS leadership and management have also made a pledge against these criminals. Last week we hosted a Summit Against Police Killings and supported by various organisations, we all vowed that we will continue with our goal of making a better police officer as well as improving their safety resources.
Yes, that means providing our police officers with matching firepower. No more will our police officers be outgunned by these thugs. The summit delegates who comprised mostly of community and broad-based civil society provided us with very useful strategies as to what we as the police leadership can do to give our police officers a fair chance against these criminals.
With the new policing approach to police officer safety, we will make sure our police officers are continuously trained, retraining, and refreshing skills for crime combat zones.
We will also be enforcing to our officers to wear their bullet proofs vests at all times when responding to crime situations. Indeed, our police officers must be vigilant and prepared at all times. We will not tolerate innocent law abiding citizens to be senselessly orphaned, widowed, or destabilised in any way by these hideous criminal cop killers.
As we approach Women’s Month, let us all be inspired by our fallen heroine Reservist/Constable Busisiwe, by making sure that the SAPS Women’s Network sees to it that the children of Busisiwe get their due benefits without any unnecessary red tapes. We shall ensure that the whole of Mehlwana and Zulu family receive the counselling support to ease the trauma of losing their child, sister, aunt and relative.
As we leave this room, pondering what to do for the 67 minutes of Mandela Month volunteerism, let us consider whistle-blowing those harbouring criminals in their midst, those who are watching a stolen flat-screened TV belonging to a robbed and killed victim.
Perhaps, as a start we need to consider toyi-toying for 67 minutes for all those police officers killed by criminals, and those still lying in hospitals recovering from their gun-shot wounds suffered in the line of duty? We owe this to the families, to the community, to our country and Constitution.
As I conclude, to the family we wish to say again, on behalf of the Minister, the National Commissioner of Police and the entire SAPS family; our hearts were broken into pieces all over again, when we yet again learned of another violent and unexpected death of one of our police officers.
We cannot imagine the depth of your sorrow, Mama Zulu, yet we understand that your life is forever changed as a result of Busisiwe’s death – because there is nothing, nothing as painful as losing a child. After all we are not supposed to outlive our children; it simply goes against the natural order of things, it may seem so terribly unjust, and it is so very hard to accept.
But, with the strength of prayer, with solidarity from our community, and with the implementation of our Summit Against Police Killings Pledge, I am sure you will pull through this difficult time. May you all stay blessed.
I thank you.
Zweli Mnisi
Tel: 012 393 4341 or 021 467 7007
Cell: 082 045 4024
E-mail: zwelim@saps.org.za
