Police Minister Bheki Cele has warned people to enjoy their holidays within the confines of the law or face the consequences. He has visited the Durban beachfront as part of his national festive season monitoring campaign.
Thousands of holidaymakers who are in Durban say they feel safe and secure in the city.
Police have been deployed to curb criminal activity in and around Durban.
Police Minister also conducted a walkabout at Durban’s main beachfront as part of the festive season safety monitoring campaign.
International tourists on Durban’s beachfront say they feel safe and secure in the city. They have joined throngs of South Africans who have travelled to the coastal city to relax over the festive season.
Holidaymakers enjoyed a day in the sun with their families. Bernd and Ute Moritz from Germany took an early morning stroll along the beachfront and say they’re loving the sweltering conditions.
“We were arriving here and then doing some travels through Botswana then we arrived back here 4 days ago. So the place is very nice… we don’t have any problems here, and the weather is very nice. Because in Germany it’s now very cold. So we like the sun and we like it warm – so it’s now perfect.”
The city’s incredibly hot and humid conditions were also no deterrent for a bubbly Zandile Mokoena from Daveyton in Gauteng.
“Oh, the place was very good for me and I’ve enjoyed the place. It’s not hot, it’s cool and I wish a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year to all the family and friends. Happy Happy!”
Speaking on the sidelines of the festive season safety monitoring campaign in Durban, Cele also commented about the murder of a suspect who has been wanted for 12 killings in KwaZulu-Natal.
It is believed that the suspect was among three people who were shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Weenen in the Midlands on Wednesday evening.
“One guy that was shot and killed is a person we have been wanting ourself for 12 murders so if you live by the sword that’s how you die. It would be nice to have found him but it looks like other people who behave like him found him.”
The Police Minister has also called for greater powers for the SAPS to deal with the death of young men at initiation schools.
Earlier this week, a 23-year-old died at a school near Crown Mines, south of Johannesburg. The owner of the school has since been arrested. This follows the death of 16-year-old Mpho Mothupi who died after sustaining injuries at an illegal initiation school in Lenasia.
Cele says, “I think somebody must give us a better law. We have been on the kind side. I hear everybody talking about tradition. They can’t water down the tradition, they can bring in the Health Department. Please do that but you can’t kill again no matter how traditional it is, no matter how you respect it, you can’t kill so many young men. They’ve got a log life to live from there.”
Cele is urging holidaymakers to avoid public spaces if they plan on arriving in a drunken and disorderly state. He says any alcohol that is found is discarded on the spot.
