APPLAUD TO POLICE COMMISSIONER

Sir,

I wish to applaud the police commissioner for coming out in the open by reassuring and updating the concerned public about the status of the investigation into the alleged kidnapping of the Matsapha business mogul Mr. Oliviera. We earnestly pray that he will be rescued alive and be reunited with his worried family.

That some suspects are currently in police custody and helping the police with their investigations, goes a long way in reassuring and restoring the public’s confidence in the long arm of the law. I also wish to applaud the commissioner for appointing a high level and elite team of investigators to lead investigations and bring the perpetrators to book. I noticed also that in the pictures of the team, there were also female detectives. This is commendable and shows that our women can hold their own in many male dominated professions.

By all means, the case deserves high priority profile because it involves a highly successful businessman and investor confidence is at stake here. The sooner the culprits are brought to book, the better for the country in restoring investor confidence. As far as I am concerned, kidnappers, murderers, rapists, child molesters and ritual murders all fall in the same vein – they are the scum of the earth and deserve to be locked behind bars with the key thrown away..
I have said it numerous times in many of my past articles that policing is one of the most thankless and dangerous professions in the world. The police walk on a very thin and perilous line as they try bring to book dangerous and callous criminals and at the same time doing their best to satisfy the insatiable and at times thankless you and me that they are capable of achieving an above average arrest and conviction rate of dangerous criminals.

In spite of their sometimes over-zealous overuse of maximum force in their quest to bring criminals to book, we need to be fully behind them and give them all the necessary and helpful support. Consequently, I also urge the police to accept and take criticism in their stride, not be defensive in some glaring cases where they employed unorthodox means in the course of their investigations. We do concede we are all human and prone to erring. There is talk doing rounds among some sections of the populace that police have given high status profile and priority to the Oliviera kidnapping case because he is someone of high status and that had it been a small Joe like you and me, would it be handled the same?

I view such criticism as negative and watering down the zeal shown by our men – in blue in solving many difficult cases in the past. The problem with human nature is that we tend to quickly turn to heaping blame on negative achievements and forget all the positives in human behavior.

 Now coming to an as yet unsolved case which has been nagging and troubling my conscience ever since it was committed- the alleged murder of the late, young and vivacious former SPTC employee Funekile Gule. It was treated as a high profile case especially by the media and sadly to date no breakthrough in solving the mystery is still forthcoming. It’s been over three years now if my memory serves me well. A young life was fluffed out, at its prime and the deafening silence on the progress of the investigation is a course for concern.

I remember vividly at the height of the hype surrounding the case that there were theories, accusations and counter accusations from a cross-section of the public which smelt a rat that there was more to the death of such a young woman than met the eye and conspiracy theories were the order of the day. Her alleged murder has faded away from the public’s eye and the pain of her death is left to be carried by the still grieving family.

Those few of us concerned still ask searching questions like: Will the alleged murderers ever be found? Is it now a closed, forgotten and cold case? Mr. Commissioner, with due respect to you and your tirelessly working team of police officers, can you please reassure the public you are not resting on your laurels but are still actively pursuing the case with the final intention of bringing whoever is alleged to be behind Funekile’s demise?
Human nature is very complex. Where the police are involved, the forever skeptical public demands instant results in the police solving cases. The public needs to be fair to the police and appreciate the fact that basically the police investigate to arrest and gathering evidence against perpetrators of crime is a painstaking process.

The police need to be careful in effecting an arrest with credible evidence that will stand in the court. Where the evidence is scanty, it is not always possible to arrest without solid evidence, so let’s always, where necessary give our police the benefit of the doubt.

To the family of Funekile, I say a few of us are still haunted by your beautiful daughter’s death. I implore you to never give up, Lift up your hearts to the one and only God who knows What, Who and Why your daughter was allegedly killed. The alleged killers are safe- for now. The blood of your daughter, like that of Biblical Abel who was slain by Cain, is crying to the lofty God of the Heavens for closure and justice.

To the police, we urge you, if police procedures and protocol permits, please update the public on the status of Funekile’s alleged murder. The family as well as the public needs closure.
We appreciate the fact that you cannot always update the public on your at times sensitive, confidential and classified information on cases because that might tip your hand and alert alleged perpetrators of crime. At the same time, if no information is forthcoming we the forever skeptical public will sometimes draw wrong conclusions and blame the police on giving low profile status to some cases – something I detest personally because I know the police are doing their best to solve all crimes without discrimination, fear or favor.

We hope you will crack wide open the Oliviera kidnapping saga. I have the fullest confidence in the police. You have solved successfully many complex cases in the past.
The long arm of the law will finally catch up with these vile kidnappers. I also have the fullest confidence that Funekile’s case is not as yet treated as a cold case and unsolved murder, a statistic of the past.

Finally, nip the scary trend of kidnap cases that are threatening investor confidence. To the criminals, you can run but cannot hide. This is not Columbia where kidnapping is rife among drug cartels because of business rivalry.
We need our peace. To the suspected kidnap syndicate, please go practice your vile activities somewhere else. We have enough internal problems in the country and don’t need you here!

Alex Lucky Nxumalo,
Manzini, 76058449.

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