This is according to Free State Police spokesperson, Motantsi Makhele, who tells OFM News in the midst of Police Safety Month, law enforcement authorities often find themselves in the middle of these protests, and in the end, this breeds hostility between themselves and the community which police don’t need. Makhele’s comments come as the sleepy town of Petrusburg in the Free State was brought to a halt this week, as residents from Bolokanang township embarked on protest action over service delivery challenges. Makhele says police are there to ensure infrastructure and lives are not destroyed in protests, like the one in Petrusburg, but in the end, they often find themselves taking the blame and the punches.

“We agree, there are situations whereby our members are out of order, but they are individuals, you cannot blame the whole force, because there are good police out there who are doing their job wholeheartedly, who are laying their lives on the line to protect the community,” says Makhele passionately.

The provincial police spokesperson formed part of a cohort of law enforcement officials who were engaging Bloemfontein residents on Friday in an effort to raise awareness regarding police safety and to also commemorate the lives of officials killed on duty. 

Makhele previously told OFM News there have been instances where police officers attend to domestic abuse-related complaints and residents become violent and retaliate by stabbing and/or verbally attacking officials.

In February of 2020, Galeshewe ‘Lloyd’ Poonyane was gunned down and killed whilst his female colleague, identified as Lydia Tladi, was injured in a shootout with robbery suspects. The police duo chased down a suspicious vehicle into Orkney in the North West where the former was killed, with the latter injured. Four relatives from Lesotho, whose ages range between 25 and 38 years, were arrested for the crime.

Almost a month later, the 44-year-old Delen Grobler-Koonin, who was a member of the Directorate for Priority Crime’s Technical Operations Management Section (Toms), and a second Hawks official, 42-year-old Wynand Herbst, were fatally shot by a cash-in-transit heist gang in Mahikeng and Coligny respectively. Both officers were stationed in the Gauteng province and were part of a larger team that was following up on the North West heist.

OFM News