Ramaphosa sits on his hands as crime and violence rage untrammelled

A spate of horror killings and kidnappings in the past few months has shaken the nation and left us with many unanswered questions.

The latest shock this week was that a human hand had been found in a refrigerator belonging to a Soweto backroom tenant, Flavio Hlabangwane.  When apprehended, he attempted to kill himself. Police said the torso and head of the victim have not yet been located.

Just as society celebrated the safe return of the four Moti boys following their mysterious kidnapping in Limpopo, the bodies of seven women were found in and around Polokwane — all apparently murdered by the same man. The 34-year-old confessed to kidnap, murder, rape, robbery and defeating the ends of justice. He lured his victims with promises of employment. 

In KwaZulu-Natal, the South African Human Rights Commission has heard heart-wrenching evidence about “bodies discarded like rubbish” during the violence in Phoenix in July.

Police minister Bheki Cele, releasing crime statistics for July to September 2021 this week, said SA remains a 'very violent country' with more than 10,000 people brutalised and sexually violated in the three-month reporting period

The examples are too many to enumerate. It is disturbing that in all cases, those targeted seem to be the most vulnerable members of society. Though the Moti boys come from a well-to-do family, they are still children. They will carry the scars of their ordeal for as long as they live. 

Police minister Bheki Cele, releasing crime statistics for July to September 2021 this week, said SA remains a “very violent country” with more than 10,000 people brutalised and sexually violated in the three-month reporting period. There were 2,000 kidnappings in the period under review.

What is even more disconcerting is that President Cyril Ramaphosa, who had initially asked national police commissioner Gen Khehla Sitole to give him reasons why he should not be suspended, has become notably reticent on the subject. Has he shelved his intentions to suspend the commissioner?

Or is his slow pace indicative of the general pace of service delivery? The absence of stability in police management is symptomatic of the broader malaise afflicting our country.