Key Points
- Lebeya says attacks on police officers are attacks on the state.
- State capture investigations led to 38 arrests and multiple convictions.
- Cash-in-transit crimes resulted in 119 arrests and nine fatalities.
Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya stated Friday at the presentation of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (DPCI) third-quarter crime report for 2024/2025 that an attack on a police officer is an attack on society and the state.
Lebeya: Attacks on police officers threaten national security
According to Lebeya, 13 police officers—including four metropolitan police officers—were killed, eight of whom were not on duty at the time. Thirty persons were arrested in relation to police killings, which he classified as a national priority crime. Seven were found guilty and given a total of 22 life sentences.
According to Iol, Lebeya addressed state capture investigations, stating that 2,241 statements had been received in 53 cases by the State Capture National Investigation Task Team. Six of the 38 people the Hawks detained were connected to the corruption crisis in Bosasa. Since then, 268 people have been charged by the Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), and four of them have been found guilty.
Fraud cases expose corruption in Covid-19 relief funds
In a different case, Yakwe Kwinana, a former board member of South African Airways (SAA), turned himself in to police on charges of fraud over an R59 million contract. In the meantime, 27 convictions have been obtained in 64 Covid-19 relief fraud cases that are still pending.
42 cash-in-transit heists were also recorded by Lebeya, which resulted in 119 arrests, nine suspect deaths, and six convictions.
