Who are Amaberete? Cele sends ‘fearsome’ police team into Soweto
The feared Amaberete police officers will be deployed to Orlando East following complaints from residents about the crime in the area.
Police Minister has vowed to the community of Orlando East, Soweto, that he will be sending the much-feared Amaberete to patrol the area.
Cele was responding to complaints by residents of Nomzamo informal settlement on Monday during his visit. The Minister’s visit comes after the brutal killing of 15 people during a shooting at a tavern in the area.
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WE ARE LIVING IN FEAR
Residents were given the opportunity to address their issues and concerns to Cele, stating that they often fear for their lives.
A resident, Pinky Tau, said she hears gunshots at the informal settlement. But the Orlando police refuse to attend to crimes at the informal settlement, she said.
“Children were playing soccer some day and at around 4PM, a gunshot was heard and the kids scattered, not knowing where to run to. Please deploy proper people. This place is a mess. You hear a bullet going over your head and you can hear that it’s a bullet.”
But in March this year, the much-feared unit came in 13th place in the 2022 UAE Swat challenge held in Dubai. The unit competed against 32 special forces teams from different countries around the world.
“After a rigorous and challenging five days of competing in tactical challenges, mock hostage rescue missions, as well as raid and obstacle challenges, the competition ended with the [unit] collecting 82 points, which secured them position 13 in the overall competition,” said the South African Police Service.