ANC Manifesto, Bheki Cele, SAPS
(R to L) Police minister Bheki Cele, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Fannie Masemola, the head of police, at the 2022 South African Police Service Commemoration Day. GCIS

Home » ANC Manifesto: SAPS defends Cele’s helicopter incident

ANC Manifesto: SAPS defends Cele’s helicopter incident

The SAPS has come out in defence of Minister Bheki Cele for arriving in a helicopter at the 2024 ANC manifesto on Saturday

24-02-24 20:35
ANC Manifesto, Bheki Cele, SAPS
(R to L) Police minister Bheki Cele, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Fannie Masemola, the head of police, at the 2022 South African Police Service Commemoration Day. GCIS

The police defended Minister Bheki Cele’s helicopter stunt at the ANC manifesto on Saturday, saying it was business as normal.

POLICE DEFENDS CELE’S HELICOPTER STUNT AT ANC MANIFESTO

In a statement, police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the SAPS chopper, just like any other major event, was deployed to this event to monitor the large crowds.

“The Minister of Police, who is responsible for the safety and security of all people living in SA, was at the time conducting his constitutional responsibility as a minister of police where he also advised and guided operations.”Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said

Mathe furthermore said it is not an isolated incident in which the Minister guides and provides advice on measures that should be put in place to control large crowds during gatherings.

DID YOU SEE CELE AT THE EFF MANIFESTO? OR THE DA MANIFESTO?

But oddly enough, Cele did not do the same at the recently held EFF manifesto or the DA manifesto… both major events as thousands of supporters gathered.

This begs the question of why special attention is given to only one political party.

DA MP Andrew Whitfield said Cele should be billed in his personal capacity for chartering a South African Police Service (SAPS) helicopter to the ANC’s manifesto launch at Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban.

‘CELE’S HELICOPTER STUNT WAS A GROSS ABUSE OF STATE RESOURCES’

“Cele’s helicopter stunt was a gross abuse of state resources and he should be made to pay for every flight minute that the helicopter was in the air.

“In addition, the DA is calling for a full SAPS internal investigation to review the decision making process that authorized the use of the helicopter by Cele. All the SAPS officers – across the chain of command, who signed off on this irregular use of a police asset, should be subjected to a disciplinary process.”DA MP Andrew Whitfield said