Police Minister Bheki Cele has called on politicians not to use police in their political battles.
Cele was speaking at the launch of the Public Order Policing (POP) reserve unit in Pretoria. This unit is established as a result of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry.
It was at this inquiry that the capabilities and techniques of public order policing came under scrutiny.
The commission then recommended that the Public Order Policing Unit be strengthened and improved to meet the demands of controlling disorder.
Cele called on police officers not to allow themselves to be used in political squabbles, and also urged politicians not to involve police.
“We can’t allow political people abusing and using this force. Let’s say there is some kind of a political activity. There are elections, somebody realises that he’s losing and then invites them to come and disrupt and all that kind of a thing. They should always be at the peripheral. If needs be it would be nice if they are absent. They are not part of the political activities and all that, but if they are there to respond when there is violence and all that, there is it.”
