The South African public were being misled over the dismissal of 1 017 police officers from the South African Police Service(SAPS) for having criminal records, the SA Policing Union (Sapu) said on Friday.
“We find it totally unacceptable that the Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and national police commissioner Riah Phiyega would mislead the South African public to this extent,” general secretary Oscar Skommere said in a statement.
“Besides the legal process taken by labour unions to interdict the SAPS from affecting this draconian move, Sapu has been on record questioning the integrity and accuracy of the so-called audit process.”
On Thursday, Mthethwa’s office said 1 017 officers were in the process of being removed from SAPS while another 67 had left the service.
Acting spokesman David Barritt said the removal comes following an audit ordered by Mthethwa, which identified 1 448 officers with criminal records.
“After following the correct legal and labour processes, SAPS is now satisfied that 1 017 of its members are no longer fit to serve,” Barritt said in a statement.
The remaining officers were still expected to appear before the fitness board…
