This follows after his Saturday visit to the area, where residents aired allegations of drug use and drug-related crime in the area.

Police Ministry spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, in a statement says "some residents told the Minister that they believe the influx of illegal foreign nationals in the area is fuelling the drug trade". 

Cele and his police management, including deputy minister Cassel Mathale and newly appointed national police commissioner, Sehlahle Masemola, visited Montshioastad and other villages in Mahikeng.

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This intervention comes as a response to safety concerns raised by community members during a Ministerial Crime Prevention Imbizo held on Saturday.

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The Imbizo, hosted by Cele, his Deputy Cassel Mathale as well as National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola and national and provincial SAPS top management, comes three weeks after the Presidential Imbizo was hosted in the same area. “It is at this engagement in March, where Minister Cele committed to return to the area, to address the crime concerns of the community," Themba says.

She explains that minister Cele has also called for a diagnostic report on the Mahikeng precinct from the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service.

"He has instructed the Secretariat; which plays an oversight role in the resourcing of the police service, to report back to the Ministry in two weeks, on the capacity of the Mahikeng police station and its ability to service the community," she further adds.

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