Pretoria - The City of Tshwane finds itself embarrassed yet again by another arrest of its law-enforcement officials as four members of the Tshwane Metro Police Department were busted for a variety of crimes.
MMC for Community Safety Grandi Theunissen has come to the appreciation that there are some bad apples abusing their positions and betraying their oath by engaging in unlawful activities.
The officers were nabbed for a variety of alleged offences including armed robbery, abduction, extortion and the possession of drugs.
In August, the Road Traffic Management Corporation called for swift and decisive disciplinary action to be taken against Tshwane Metro Police traffic officers arrested on allegations of corruption and malfeasance.
This was after two were arrested on suspicion of involvement in extorting money from motorists who transgressed road regulations; just a few days after 11 other officers were busted.
Theunissen condemned the alleged unlawful acts by some members of the TMPD. In the recent case, one officer was arrested at the Pretoria North police station while the other three officers were arrested by the Lyttelton police in Centurion, and they are now detained at the Sunnyside police station. The group is expected to appear in court today.
“These four arrests are the latest in a string of arrests of Tshwane Metro Police Department officers for alleged acts that are unlawful and against the department’s oath of office.
“While many Tshwane Metro Police Department members work diligently to combat crime and lawlessness, their efforts are constantly undermined by those who are ‘police officers’ by day and criminals at night. In the worst instances, crimes are even conducted while in uniform.
“I would like to make it unequivocally clear that the City of Tshwane has a zero-tolerance approach to bribery, corruption and any illegal activities by those within our ranks.
“The rotten apples will be identified, criminal charges will be laid where possible and full internal investigations will be carried out. Internally, all the necessary disciplinary steps will be followed and, where the offence warrants it, dismissals will follow,” said Theunissen.
He said the public could report cases of misconduct to the Tshwane Metro Police Department on 083 657 2998 or at [email protected].
Members of the public Isaac Ndlovu and David Marumo said the MEC was mistaken to think it was just a few traffic officers who were corrupt and involving themselves in criminal activities and soliciting bribes from members of the public.
“The problem of corrupt law-enforcement officials is not unique to Tshwane or the metro department but across all law-enforcement entities across the country. Traffic officers allow people to get away with crime for small bribes that start from R20. The police in blue also take bribes. You can even see by who they target.
“Traffic officers target mostly taxis because there is a belief there is always a reason to threaten to issue a fine. The police target mostly businesses operated by foreign nationals. They are always parked outside their businesses and having conversations,” said Marumo.
Pretoria News