President Cyril Ramaphosa
Programme Director,
Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele,
Deputy Minister of Police, Mr Cassel Mathale,
National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Khehla Sitole,
Generals and senior management of the SAPS,
Members of the SAPS,
Families of our fallen heroes,
Representatives of the South African Police Service Education Trust,
Representatives of Labour Unions,
Guests,
Fellow South Africans,
I convey my heartfelt greetings to you all this morning.
We have gathered here on this National Police Commemoration Day to pay tribute to our fallen men and women in blue.
We salute all members of the SAPS who lost their lives in the line of duty between the 1st of April 2020 and the 31st of March 2021.
They were colleagues, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, loving fathers, caring mothers, neighbours and friends. They will be deeply missed.
Occasions such as this are a stark reminder of the perils our men and women in uniform face as they carry out their duty to serve our country and protect its people.