Police Minister Bheki Cele recently visited communities in Zwelisha to give an update on the arrests in connection with murders that took place in Phoenix amid the unrest and looting last month. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad/African News Agency (ANA)
MINISTER of Police Bheki Cele has dismissed allegations that all the recovered looted goods, especially food stuff, were going to be burnt and destroyed.
This comes after widespread claims and pictures showing allegedly looted goods during the recent unrest being destroyed and burned by police officers.
Cele was speaking during his visit to the Phoenix area on Sunday.
“People just come with lies, I don’t know why they do that because there is no food stuff that is going to be destroyed,” he said.
Cele said that the recovered food would be going to the police ’s SP13, where anything that might be used as evidence is kept.
Cele said because there was a lot of food, some of it was taken to warehouses.
The minister added that the police were working jointly with the Department of Social Development and the Health Department.
“The Health Department’s duty is to ascertain if the food is still in good condition for it to be used. The Social Development Department would then take that food and distribute it to the charity organisations, such as orphanages and old age homes. It is not true that those foods are being destroyed and would all be burnt,” he said.
Cele further stated that things like appliances, which were taken from the retailers, have also been stored.
He said that retailers have also asked the police to see the appliances to verify the serial numbers and they will then decide what to do with them.
“From what we get from the retailers, all those things are now second hand and they would not be sold as new things. Some of them have also committed themselves to say they would donate those things to charity organisations as well,” stated Cele.
He added that it was not up to the police nor government to tell them what to do with their own goods.
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