Johannesburg – Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa is trying to score political points by blaming the Western Cape government for the killing of police officers in Mitchell’s Plain and Khayelitsha, the DA said on Monday.

“His comments today were distasteful, insensitive and an insult to the grieving families of these police officers,” DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard said in a statement.

“The only people to blame for the deaths of our police officers are criminals, who have no respect for the police.”

She said Mthethwa should pay more attention to this fact.

Earlier, Mthethwa said the Western Cape community safety department’s criticism of the police service reinforced the idea that officers did not deserve respect.

“What we are saying is that criticising the police is not a problem if they think there are weaknesses. But if they say nothing positive, they open them [the police] up to criminal attack,” he told Sapa.

Mthethwa spoke to reporters in Mitchell’s Plain on Monday morning following the fatal shootings of two policemen in Cape Town on Sunday night.

He said the province had the highest number of attacks on police.

The DA called on Mthethwa to retract his comments.

“[He must] stop abusing his position to make irresponsible statements. Instead, he should be proactive and launch an investigation into the causes and extent of police killings,” Kohler-Barnard said.

The DA intended asking Parliament to summon Mthethwa to explain what he would do to better protect police officers in the Western Cape and the rest of the country.

– SAPA