The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) President Thulani Ngwenya has called on police officers to challenge the status quo and fight for change, drawing comparisons with the women of 1956 and the youth of 1976.
Ngwenya was speaking at POPCRU’s Central Executive Committee meeting in Boksburg, where he urged police officers to take a more active role in addressing the challenges facing the country.
“You cannot stand in front of the people and you don’t fight the status quo in the masses of the country,” Ngwenya said.
He questioned who would bring about change if leaders failed to challenge the status quo.
Ngwenya also condemned the killing of police officers, saying such attacks should be viewed as attacks on the state.
“If the president can declare Gender-Based Violence (GBV) a national disaster, why can’t he declare the killing of police officers a crime against the state?” he asked.
Ngwenya also paid tribute to two police officers who were killed during the Marikana violence in August 2012, when 34 mineworkers were killed by police during a confrontation at Lonmin’s Marikana mine.
He said the deaths of police officers should not be ignored and called for greater recognition of the risks faced by law enforcement officers.
POPCRU is a major trade union representing more than 150,000 workers across the criminal justice and public safety sectors.
