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The South African Policing Union welcomes the appointment of General Bheki Cele as the new Police Minister as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last night. SAPU holds General Cele in high regard because of our engagements with him whilst he was the national police commissioner. General Cele proved his passion for policing although he was never a career police officer.

We join thousands of law-abiding citizens who are excited about his appointment. Already functionary members on the ground are looking forward in a minister that will walk with them in the difficult journey of combating crime. In welcoming Minister Cele SAPU calls on him to prioritise the issue of the lack of support for police officers facing legal challenges when they are alleged to be involved in unfortunate killings of crime suspects.

There is the Engcobo multi-disciplinary task team that was involved in the operation that led to the killing of seven suspects last Friday. We call on Minister Cele to avail the best legal minds for those officers as we are aware the IPID is probing that incident. After dealing with the legal support for the Engcobo multi-disciplinary task team, we call upon Minister Cele to act swiftly in appointing a permanent divisional head of Crime Intelligence and head of the Hawks.

The appointment of Minister Cele is more of continuity as he is familiar with policing at a practical level. The morale of our members has been boosted by this appointment as members feel Minister Cele is one of our own. We hope to continue working with him as we did during his previous stint in the police.

Issued by South African Policing Union