Police Minister Bheki Cele is refusing to apologize to anti-crime activist Ian Cameron, despite Parliament’s sanction for him to do so.
Cele plans to challenge the decision on review, calling it “laughable”. The controversy stemmed from a heated exchange between Cele and Cameron at a crime imbizo in Gugulethu, Western Cape, last July.
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Cameron, the director of civil rights organization Action Society, accused Cele of failing to protect citizens and not adequately deploying police to crime hotspots. The meeting quickly turned into a shouting match, with Cele eventually shouting at Cameron to “shut up”. Police officers had to intervene and remove Cameron from the venue.
Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests recently ruled that Cele should apologize to Cameron in front of members of the National Assembly. However, Cele has no intention of doing so and plans to challenge the decision. During a media briefing, he expressed his disagreement with the sanction and stated, “I will be taking it on review.”
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Cameron, on the other hand, believes that Cele should resign from his position as Minister of Police. He criticized Cele for being power-hungry and stated, “An honorable person would step out gracefully, but Cele seems too power-hungry for that.” Action Society will continue to demand Cele’s removal from office.
