On Monday, 27 June 2011 National Police Commissioner, General Bheki Cele attended and gave an impassioned speech at the funeral of the late Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Marc Ishlove. General Cele who - week after week after week - honours our fallen heroes at their funerals and comforts their loved ones, justly raged against the audacity of those who brazenly murder our brave police officials.
During his speech, the National Commissioner rightly pointed out that our members should not be made heroes by criminals as they are heroes in their own right.
He correctly indicated that hardened thugs do not take "brooms and feather dusters" with them when they embark on a crime spree. General Cele was accurate when he warned that if a criminal points a firearm at a police member or a civilian with the intention to shoot, it should not be the police officer who dies "with his gun in his hand".
General Cele did not propagate a "shoot to kill" policy and never has. General Cele did not urge police officials to "shoot first and ask questions later" and never has.
So many members of the news media at the funeral, the Sowetan and the Beeld to name but two, recorded his comments correctly and gave fitting tribute to the late Lieutenant Colonel Ishlove. Strangely, two newspapers which were published on Tuesday 28 June 2011 chose to use similar (incorrect) headlines. "Shoot first, Cele tells police" was emblazoned on a front page. "Shoot first and ask later", was another headline.
"Were these two journalists at a different funeral to the one I attended?" asked General Cele. "Why, when we are fighting so vigorously to combat the scourge of police killings, do some media want to misrepresent my intentions and thus stir up anti-police sentiments?" he added.
"It is time for us to move forward together - the media, civil society, business and the police to ensure that police officials do their job of combating and preventing crime without being mowed down in cold blood. Who will be left to protect the community if our men and women in blue are assassinated in droves?" concluded the General.
Media contact:
Brigadier Sally de Beer
Cell: 082 779 8658
Source: South African Police Service
