Metro police action utterly shameful

It was with utter disgust that I watched the coverage of the events that unraveled in Johannesburg City Center on Wednesday night. When men and women who have been entrusted with the function of upholding law and order and the safety of the citizenry, take up arms and shoot at each other, something has gone terribly wrong. When two security agencies, who should be working together to fight lawlessness, abuse state resources to fight each other, one has to wonder whether we are at the brink of a disaster as a country.

The Metro police managed to destroy whatever credibility they had in the public eye in a single night. When they decided to cease to be upholders of the law, and act like hooligans, firing live ammunition at the South African police in the presence of civilians, they effectively declared themselves a danger to the public they claim to “protect and serve”. Their actions were not only disgusting but also demoralizing to a public that is in need of safety assurances. The message is loud and clear to the SA public; those we have entrusted with our wellbeing are not so committed to the course anymore. Heads should roll, somebody should be held accountable, but we all know too well by now, this is just another day in the chaos we call our country.

Perhaps even more worrying is the fact that the events of last night could possibly not merely be about salary increases as much as they are about the state of disharmony that has engulfed our security agencies. It is public knowledge that the SAPS and their Metro police counterparts have always had unresolved issues coexisting and working together over the years. We know that during the Xenophobic attacks recently, the SAPS and National Intelligence Agencies (NIA) kept pointing fingers at each other.

We are also aware of the current turf war between the SAPS and the NPA. The SAPS currently have a suspended mafia buddy to deal with; the Ekurhuleni Metro police have a power drunken master in Robert McBride. One looks up to the higher powers who should be re-assuring us, but alas, the best they can do is to extend Jackie Selebi’s employment contract while he is still under suspension.

It is up to us South Africans to search within our souls and ask very difficult questions about the direction that this country is heading to. It is up to each individual to really ask; “is this the democracy that we longed for?”. All those who love this country know that whatever is brewing under the surface cannot be allowed to boil over; this country is way too precious. Let us walk into next years elections with our minds open about who should lead us, let us make a statement in the way we elect our local leaders; let us demand excellence from them. Let us at provincial level demand change, never ceasing to demand the best that we deserve from those we entrust with our future. May God help us as we seek to redefine ourselves as a nation!