Polokwane - National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele has told officers to exercise caution when dealing with children to avoid deaths such as that of a school pupil in the Free State this week.
Nontsikelelo Anna Nokela, 17, was shot dead in Allanridge on Monday while the police were trying to quell pupil protests against preliminary exams.
General Cele, who was speaking at the official opening of a new administration block and computer room at Ha-Makhuvha Primary School outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo on Thursday, said the murder should be condemned.
"I'm appealing to all police officers to make sure that they exercise caution when they deal with children. Our police must learn to be lenient with our kids and they must understand how to treat them," said General Cele.
The money for the administration block and computer room, which cost R524 157, was donated to the school by police officers from different stations in the province. It was the brainchild of Limpopo's Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Calvin Sengani, who was born and bred in Ha-Makhuvha and attended the school.
General Cele said Lieutenant-General Sengani's gesture showed that the police could contribute positively to the welfare of the community in other ways than arresting criminals. "The donation by SAPS members in Limpopo serves to remind the people that the police are not working alone but with the communities they serve," said Cele.
He also told the children that those who wanted to join the police service should work hard on their maths so that they could become police helicopter pilots and forensic scientists.
School principal Pfuluwani Matsheletshele said the teachers were delighted to finally have proper facilities they could use.
"They were using a passage between two classrooms as their administration room," he explained.
The police also donated 10 computers, which Matsheletshele said would help the 567 learners to learn basic computer skills and access the Internet.
General Cele also promised to donate a fridge to the school so that pupils and teachers could have cold water to drink during summer.
