{"id":33558,"date":"2022-07-11T17:22:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T17:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/tavern-tragedy-we-need-laws-that-favour-the-police-not-criminals-kwazulu-natal-mec"},"modified":"2022-07-11T17:39:38","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T17:39:38","slug":"tavern-tragedy-we-need-laws-that-favour-the-police-not-criminals-kwazulu-natal-mec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/tavern-tragedy-we-need-laws-that-favour-the-police-not-criminals-kwazulu-natal-mec","title":{"rendered":"Tavern tragedy: We need laws that favour the police, not criminals \u2013 KwaZulu-Natal MEC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The laws in South Africa favour criminals and need to be amended to assist in the fight against crime, said KwaZulu-Natal’s acting MEC for community safety and liaison, Jomo Sibiya.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been told in South Africa a criminal can shoot you, but once they turn their back, you cannot shoot that criminal because he is no longer a threat to you. It cannot be that way, that’s not how the law should work,” said Sibiya on Monday.<\/p>\n

He was speaking at the Samkelisiwe Tavern in Sweetwaters, Pietermaritzburg, where four people were shot and killed on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n

The shooting occurred just hours before 15 people were shot and killed in the Nomzamo Tavern tragedy in Soweto.<\/p>\n

The incidents magnified concerns around safety at taverns and its compliance with the law.<\/p>\n

Sibiya said the state could not allow criminals to “continue this way”.<\/p>\n

“If police have to deal with thugs in any manner [they want], let them do it, because our people are dying. Week in and out, people are taking the law into their own hands because know the police cannot do anything.”<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | Adriaan Basson: Tavern shootings: The problem is guns, not booze<\/b><\/p>\n

He was particularly angered that criminals, depending on the context, could not be shot in the back after attacking a police officer.<\/p>\n

“You’ve been shot and a criminal can turn his back, and is not considered a threat. Police will be arrested because he shot someone who is not a threat. That is a stupid law, I’m saying it.<\/p>\n

“We cannot have laws that protect criminals \u2013 we need laws that give authority to the state and the police. The state must be respected.”<\/p>\n

Sweetwaters shooting<\/b><\/p>\n

He bemoaned the population spike in Sweetwaters, saying the area had a population of 46 000 people in 2011, but now had 300 000 residents.<\/p>\n

“People have moved up [population growth], but the number of police stations remains one. It is under-capacitated, with no resources. This cannot continue. We need to deal with crime in the Sweetwaters area… crime is rife in this area, especially the contact crimes.”<\/p>\n

Sibiya lamented that police were being restricted from doing their work because of the law.<\/p>\n

“Our police are stripped of their authority. Some legislation does not empower them.”<\/p>\n

He then turned his attention to alcohol, saying it was a scourge in society.<\/p>\n

“Our people believe that every day, every morning and every night they must drink. If you look at this area, there is a shisanyama here, bottle store here, car wash here, restaurant here and a tavern here. It is an alcohol-spree area. A precinct of alcohol. Everyone who comes here know they will drink here.<\/p>\n

“There are some that will drink innocently, but most won’t.”<\/p>\n

He also questioned the liquor authority, who had given permission to the 163 taverns presently operating in the area.<\/p>\n

“There are also more than 50 bottle stores. Alcohol is taking over… our country cannot be destroyed by alcohol. It has become a crime-breeding substance, which is driving our people insane.”<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The laws in South Africa favour criminals and need to be amended to assist in the fight against crime, said KwaZulu-Natal’s acting MEC for community safety and liaison, Jomo Sibiya. “I’ve been told in South Africa a criminal can shoot you, but once they turn their back, you cannot shoot that criminal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":33557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12],"tags":[274,315,314,2667,286,942,275],"class_list":["post-33558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-crime","tag-jomo-sibiya","tag-kwazulu-natal","tag-pietermaritzburg","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nTavern tragedy: We need laws that favour the police, not criminals \u2013 KwaZulu-Natal MEC - South 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