The Provincial Commissioner of the Northern Cape, Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola simultaneously hosted the launch of Operation Shanela and Women in Law Enforcement Parade in De Aar on Tuesday 15 August 2023 . The event was held at the Merino Stadium in Sunrise, De Aar and commenced at 10:00 and attended by an array of representatives from external departments including the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster departments along with members of the community and other entities from De Aar and Pixley ka Seme District.
Shanela, is a Zulu word meaning "to sweep" and with this operation, the SAPS and their counterparts in the JCPS cluster will continue to sweep the streets clean of all crime and its perpetrators in the country. In attendance was Major General Mamotheti from the Division Visible Policing, representing the Deputy National Commissioner for Policing, Lt Gen Mosikili as well the National Champion of the SAPS Women's Network, Major General Sitole .
In her address she encouraged the female members not to be shy, to take charge of any situation as they also possess, equal strength as their male counterparts. Major General Maropeng Mamothethi remarked that these high density operations started on the 8 May 2023 and focus mainly on regular stop and searches, vehicle check points, road blocks, cordon and searches, high visibility patrols that include foot patrols, tracing of wanted suspects with a focus on the apprehension of rape and murder suspects, compliance inspections at liquor outlets as well as second hand goods dealers.
She further reiterated that the operations are executed in conjunction with the South African National Defence Force, Departments of Correctional Services and Home Affairs, Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison and Community Policing Forum as well as Community in Blue Patrollers and other stakeholders. The Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Koliswa Otola who was the functionary shared the successes achieved with the audience.
A multitude of arrests were executed and large amounts of confiscations were made in the province, since the launch of Operation Shanela.
She revealed that more than 10 000 suspects have been arrested for various crimes to date. Participating departments delivered messages of support including Commissioner Subashini Moodley, the Regional Commissioner of Correctional Services in Free State and Northern Cape, who pledged her support to the initiative. A message of support was also delivered by Ms Essau, representing the Chairperson of the CPF Provincial Board. The event was ceremoniously concluded with a final compliment by the Women in Law Enforcement parade.
The release of red and black balloons by all women and men present in memory of victims of Gender-based Violence and Femicide officially concluded phase 1 of the day's proceedings. The ladies then dispersed and executed various operational actions including a static roadblock on the N10 national road and the searching of identified drug houses in De Aar and Sunrise respectively. The day’s events was concluded with the Female Engagement on GBVF.
A participative dialogue with the topic " Accelerating Socio-Economic opportunities for Women Empowerment and GBVF. The panel was led by Lt Gen Otola, her Deputy Provincial Commissioners for Policing and Crime Detection as well as the District Commissioners of Pixely Ka-Seme and ZF Mgcawu, the CPF Provincial Board and the Department of Transport Safety and Liaison. The panelists responded to questions and concerns raised by the audience.
#Wathint abafazi, wathint imbokodo#