Masemola stresses SAPS’ commitment to mental well-being of members

National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has reiterated that the South African Police Service (SAPS) continues to prioritise the mental health and well-being of its members on a daily basis.

This follows the hostage situation in Mamelodi East, which has left the community reeling and raised serious concerns about crisis response within law enforcement.

A police constable held his family hostage in an incident that ended with two fatalities.

Masemola has urged police members to make use of the resources provided by the state.

“You are aware of the incident in Mamelodi yesterday morning where our Special Task Force (STF), together with the negotiators, were on the scene where one of our constables shot his close relatives, fatally wounded 18-year-old [nephew], and later he released his mother. But he ended up taking his own life. The member was stationed at Boshkop police station in Tshwane.”

“It’s a sad story, we encourage all members of SAPS to make use of the employee health and wellness we have in the organization in the form of the chaplain and social workers. We have got psychologist and, of course, members are not always compelled or forced to go to our wellness centers. If they go outside, we still allow them to do so,” adds Masemola.

But Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (Popcru) president, Thulani Ngwenya, has lambasted the SAPS Employee Health and Wellness Division, saying it does not produce any positive outcomes.

“It is a sad day again for the SAPS what we’ve heard that a member has committed suicide and held the family hostage. It’s something that’s not good for us. Maybe he was not given enough support from work, hence he decided to use the firearm.”

“The EHW is not used … utilized in a manner that is supposed to. It is utilized against our members and the information given to them; they are using it to lambaste the member and name-drop on incidents in the office. We’ve been telling them long time that the EHW is not assisting members in the police,” explains Ngwenya.