Police minister Bheki Cele, addressing an ANC gathering in eThekwini on Thursday, said he is not happy that his party has launched a Black Friday campaign targeting racism and police brutality.
The campaign is in relation to George Floyd, a black man whose death at the hands of the police in the US sparked mass anti-racism protests around the world.
Seemingly oblivious to his own police's complicity in the death of Collins Khosa in Alexandra, Johannesburg, Cele is of the view that campaigns against police brutality unintentionally endorse attacks on police by criminals and communities.
But his comments on the national lockdown are even more jaw-dropping. He said crime fighting has benefited from the lockdown as there is increased police visibility. The country, he said, has experienced no cash heists or robberies.
It should be a matter of grave concern to all that a minister in charge of police thinks locking citizens in their homes is the best method of keeping the country crime-free.
By celebrating reduced criminal activity during lockdown, Cele and those in the cabinet who hold the same view are being disingenuous about the causes of and remedy for violent crime.
It is a fanciful idea for governments bedevilled by violent crime to go the North Korea route, locking citizens in their homes and unleashing the army to police them. But we are not that kind of society. We are an open democracy where freedom of choice and movement are constitutionally enshrined.
The lockdown is being enforced to contain the spread of the coronavirus and flatten the curve. Unless the government has been lying to us, it is not supposed to be a crime-fighting tool.
It is also not economically or practically viable to keep the lockdown in place forever. What will happen when we eventually reach level 1 and all movement is allowed? Cele and his police must do their job and keep South Africans safe in the streets, in their homes and in their places of work and recreation.
Police must be visible at all times, especially when free movement is finally allowed. Reduced human activity during the lockdown cannot be celebrated as a victory against crime.
If he ever manages to get crime levels down after the lockdown, Cele will have real cause for celebration.
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