Issued by: Ministry for Safety and Security
MEDIA RELEASE BY THE MINISTER FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY, MR SYDNEY MUFAMADI, JANUARY 12, 1996, PRETORIA.
I take a serious view of reports that the Police Reporting Officer for KwaZulu/Natal, Advocate Neville Melville, has experienced a lack of co-operation from members of the South African Police Service in his investigations into police conduct in that province.
Whilst it now appears that Advocate Melville's comments referred to past investigations and not to his present investigation into the Shobashobane massacre, it is necessary to warn members of the South African Police Service that any obstruction of investigations into violence will have serious consequences.
Advocate Melville has been instructed to investigate the possible role of the police in the Shobashobane massacre to the bone. I expect every member of the South African Police Service to provide the fullest co-operation possible.
Advocate Melville will be submitting reports about this investigation to the Secretary for Safety and Security, Mr Azhar Cachalia, in due course.
If this report reveals that members of the South African Police Service are guilty of not co-operating, such members do not belong in the South African Police Service. They have no place in the new South African Police Service which is about opening up and transparency - not about ongoing subterfuge and cover-up.
Should the reports by Advocate Melville implicate any members of the South African Defence Force, I will make the information available to the Minister of Defence and discuss it with him.
Reports of police misconduct again high-light the urgency of establishing the independent Complaints Directorate provided for in the new Police Services Act. The establishment of this structure, which will conduct independent investigations into allegations of police misconduct is one of the priorities of the Secretariat for Safety and Security for this year.
Enquiries: Mulalo Maxwell Mulaudzi Minister's spokesperson 082 373 2005