Police members, Cape Forum protest against withdrawal of Kinnear family’s security detail, mismanagement in SAPS

This week, the civil rights organisation Cape Forum once again made an urgent appeal to the South African Police Service (SAPS) to prioritise the reinstatement of the Kinnear family’s police security detail. Cape Forum, as well as a group of police members and other interested organisations, in support of the reinstatement of the family’s security detail, participated in a protest action in front of the SAPS’s Western Cape head office in Cape Town yesterday. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU), of which the murdered Lt. Col. Charl Kinnear was a member, convened the protest action to point out the mismanagement currently taking place in the SAPS.

According to Cape Forum, the Kinnear family’s security detail is of the utmost importance for the family as well as the rest of the community because of the precedent it creates. The withdrawal of their protection is indicative of wider problems, such as mismanagement, which has now become characteristic of the SAPS, says Bernard Pieters, Manager of Community Activation at Cape Forum.

Police members who took part in the protest action yesterday also believe that the SAPS, especially in terms of safety, no longer has the interests of its employees at heart and that mismanagement can largely be blamed for this.

“The withdrawal of the Kinnear family’s security detail also highlights the problems regarding community safety and the challenges faced by those actively involved in maintaining law and order. Witnesses must be able to fulfil their role in the prosecution process without fear or intimidation, but this cannot happen in this case,” explains Pieters. “The Kinnear case also emphasises the need for the devolution of national policing power to that of provinces, a matter for which Cape Forum is actively campaigning. In this case, we see that the SAPS top management has a total lack of competence or will to protect its people. It just shows how far they have already fallen into a kakistocracy.”

Get involved today and help make a difference. Send an email to info@kaapseforum.co.za or join www.kaapseforum.co.za.