Newly appointed MEC for Safety, Security and Liaison in Limpopo Mr George Phadagi has warned criminals, especially those involved in the human tissue trade, organized syndicates and corrupt officials, to close shop or face a life of anguish and to rot in jail.

Phadagi, the former MEC for Public Works, who took over from Ms Dikeledi Magadzi after the recent cabinet reshuffle by Premier Cassel Mathale, was speaking after visiting Malamulele police station on a fact-finding mission. Malamulele station has been in the news of late, after handling a case of alleged ritual murder and refusing to arrest a suspect who is a well-known traditional leader. The traditional leader had been accused by the community.

The community held two marches to the same station, urging police to arrest the suspect. During the last march, police were given 14 days to arrest the alleged suspect.

Phadagi acknowledged the mammoth task that lies ahead of him and said no task was too big to handle, as the police service was not a one-man show. “The task of securing people’s lives and their property cannot be underestimated, but I have all the hope, following in the footsteps of my predecessor and tightening screws here and there, we will emerge victorious over crime. We have ample manpower who are trained for every eventuality and are ready at all times. I can assure you, criminals will sooner rather than later regret why they chose their career out of all the jobs. They will not have a place to hide. We will hunt them down everywhere they are and arrest them,“ he said.

Asked as to how he would deal with cases like ritual murder, Phadagi said ritual murders had become like a curse or a plaque in Vhembe, needing urgent attention. “We have capable officers and a task team comprising specialists who are well trained to deal with such cases. They have been tasked to investigate the cases."

Meanwhile, the Malamulele police have posted a R100 000 reward for information that might lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the ritual murder at Mavambe village outside Malamulele a fortnight ago.