- Minister of Police Bheki Cele made a bold statement during the funeral of Gugulethu Community Policing Forum (CPF) deputy chair Lulama ‘Guffy’ Dinginto citing that he wanted the perpetrator to be arrested “permanently”.
- The service was held at Gugulethu Sports Complex in the area on Saturday 16 December.
- Dinginto was ambushed in her home on Sunday 10 December.
Minister of Police Bheki Cele made a bold statement during the funeral of Gugulethu Community Policing Forum (CPF) deputy chair Lulama ‘Guffy’ Dinginto citing that he wanted the perpetrator to be arrested “permanently”.
The service was held at Gugulethu Sports Complex in the area on Saturday 16 December.
Dinginto was ambushed in her home on Sunday 10 December. (“Residents on tenterhooks”, City Vision, 14 December).
Cele described the suspect as a jailbird. He told the mourners in the hall that they woud find the killer.
“If it happens that we find him. I want the officers to make sure that his case is not withdrawn. I don’t know how, but they must make sure that they arrest him ‘permanently’. There must be no bail.”
Cele chastised judges and accused them for allowing criminals to dictate to the communities. He claimed judges are not protecting the community.
“It is time for the judges to answer. Judges allow criminals to run over us. They can say whatever they want to say, but this time judges need to answer how this alleged suspect was released?” asked Cele.
He confessed that the state had failed Dinginto.
“Hamba Guffy uyolala (Go and sleep Guffy). But I think Guffy has been failed by the system. She has been failed by us as a government. Also, she has been failed by the community. We’ve been given wrong information by the community. We have been wanting this guy (the suspect) since Guffy died. We went to 14 houses searching for him. You gave us wrong information,” declared Cele. He said he believed that the community knew the suspect’s whereabouts.
READ | Gugulethu CPF deputy chairperson shot and killed in an ambush at her home
He said the officers won’t leave no stone unturned to ensure that the suspect has brought to the book.
Speaking on behalf of the Diginto family, Mxolisi Mbalu said they were relieved that their sister had been laid to rest in peace. He expressed his gratitude to all the local and political organisations and the community at large who supported them during the dificult time. He said Cele has revived their hope that the suspect will be apprehended.
“I don’t want to lie. Initially, I didn’t have confidence in the law enforcement agencies. However, after the minister spoke I felt relieved. I like the way he depicted the suspect. It seems he did his investigation and has full details about the suspect,” he stated.
Guffy was buried in Maitland Cemetery.