Metro cops deployed to funeral for Joburg police chief’s mother

Johannesburg - Eighteen freeway Joburg metro police officers (JMPD), six highway and 30 patrol vehicles, four motorbikes and a number of staff in full uniform were deployed over a few days for the burial of the mother of Acting Chief of Police, Angie Mokasi, who died at the end of December.

On the day of the funeral, 11 BMW drivers reported for duty and six were deployed to the funeral, leaving only five BMWs to operate on all the freeways in the greater Joburg area, the JMPD’s jurisdiction. On the same day four motorbike operators reported for duty and all of them were deployed to the same funeral.

This left the freeways and many other areas vulnerable and cost ratepayers, who ultimately foot the bill, hundreds of thousands of rand.

Normal members of the public may request a JMPD escort for a funeral, at a cost of R1 400, but this covers the route from the church/hall or family home to the cemetery, and that becomes the end of the escort. However, in this instance, the same JMPD vehicles deviated from policy and escorted the family gathering back to the family home. The same officers and vehicles spent the day at the funeral, and some even left in the evening.

SA Municipal Workers Union spokesperson Jack Mokalapa said: “While we extend our condolences, in the acting chief of police’s case there was an escort for the body of her mother from the funeral undertaker to the family house in Naledi, Soweto, and thereafter at the funeral and burial where officers remained the whole day.

“There were also many road closures in and around Soweto to accommodate the huge convoy and there was no pre-planning, causing congestion and inconvenience to neighbours. Many regional officers were also deployed at the funeral in full uniform, allegedly under instructions from the JMPD headquarters.”

In what JMPD staff are calling an “unprecedented show of authority and abuse of power”, they said no other member of staff had had such luxury of resources after the death of their next of kin.

“Traffic officers have complained that this was a total abuse of power and an action which demands an apology from the mayor.

“We have received numerous complaints from officers being ordered to attend the funeral and made to stay the whole day.”

“The deceased was the mother of the acting chief, not a high-profile person. With 16 of the 18 freeways officers at the funeral, the city’s main roads were left unattended.

“What justifies this operational decision? What is the public profile of the deceased person,” staff asked, adding that the city’s claim that they were there of their own volition was “hogwash” as there was a command control centre that deployed officers.

Regarding the use of JMPD’s choir, which also consists of officers, Mokalapa said they were required to sing at the funeral, and during the weekend on the day of the funeral, services they did not render even during employees’ funerals, he added.

“This action unnecessarily brought undue strain on the already stretched and minimal resources. If we are to quantify or cost the services rendered to the funeral at council tariff rates, the minimal figures would run into millions, all wasteful expenditure at her behest.

“This further violated the rights of the residents as she effected unlawful road closures without following proper processes.”

He said it should be noted in the event of the death of a member of the JMPD, limited resources were employed and, in some instances, when an officer died off duty, a distinction regarding the deployment of resources outside of policy was unfairly applied.

In this case the magnitude of the deployment of public resources was unprecedented.

The city, however, said all procedures had been followed and the family paid for the escort at a cost of R1 400. City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said the normal procedure for funerals was that the bereaved family must apply formally to the JMPD for escort services.

“This is a standard tariff for a funeral escort, irrespective of the size of the procession. This amount does not determine the capacity, that is, the number of cars to be deployed in the escort. When applying, the family must state the expected number of cars that will be in the funeral procession.

“The minimum number of cars allocated per escort services for a funeral is six,” he said, adding that road closures, if any, were conducted to control the flow of traffic, and residents were informed beforehand about them.

“In the case of this funeral, there were no road closures on the day of the funeral as there was no reason to initiate such. JMPD officials who attended both the memorial service and funeral did so in their personal capacity. No one was deployed.

“By virtue of Ms Mokasi being the acting chief of police as well as the director of operations, she is responsible for one of the biggest directorates within the JMPD. It is thus not surprising that she will receive a lot of support from her colleagues during her time of grief,” he said.

The city denied that the JMPD choir had been at the funeral, saying the Roman Catholic Church Choir had rendered all the musical items on the day.

“Complaints on the basis of untested allegations and innuendo are making it difficult for the city to act against those singled out for alleged wrongdoing. We would like to encourage dissatisfied clients and employees to utilise and exhaust formal internal processes and procedures in dealing with grievances,” Modingoane said.

anna.cox@inl.co.za

The Star