A Twitter Thread by Ian Cameron

1/11 Thread: DNA backlog: Bheki Cele still lies to South Africa – Uses ringfencing to disguise rise in DNA backlog. His recent claim of the backlog standing at 71 000 is not telling the truth. Instead, he uses smoke and mirrors to make it seem like the backlog is declining.

2/ The Portfolio Committee on Police (PCP) heard that the DNA backlog stood at 173 000 in March 2021. Action Society learned through a PAIA application that the backlog stood at 241 152 in April 2021. CeleMustGo WeWillNotShutUp

3/ Cele reported that the backlog then declined to 166 327 in August last year. The minister continued publicly stating that they are working down the backlog and, at the GBV Summit this month, said the backlog now stood at around 71 000. CeleMustGo WeWillNotShutUp

4/ However, Cele failed to mention that he kept referring to the initial ringfenced cases, which excludes new cases not processed within 30 days after June 2021. CeleMustGo WeWillNotShutUp

5/ If Cele had been leading with integrity, he would have explained that the backlog actually continues to grow because the National Forensic Service Laboratories (NFSL) cannot handle the influx of about 18 000 new entries per month, much less work down the ringfenced cases.

6/ This revelation voids the PAIA response from SAPS in July'22, stating that “…there is no need for the appointment of private contractors at the moment, since the backlog is currently being down managed accordingly.” CeleMustGo WeWillNotShutUp https://t.co/mbAeV6bbqF

7/ In his report to the PCP in August 2021, Cele said public-private partnerships are part of the solution to optimise laboratory capacity. So which is it? CeleMustGo WeWillNotShutUp https://t.co/mbAeV6aDB7

8/ For a government which continuously claims to be fighting against gender-based violence, this “strategy” seems to show an utter disrespect for victims of GBV. CeleMustGo WeWillNotShutUp

9/ The recent GBV Summit would have been the ideal opportunity to be honest about the DNA backlog and announce how SAPS will use any available resources to solve the problem. But, instead, Cele chose to continue lying to save face. CeleMustGo WeWillNotShutUp

10/ The next time you go around creatively with statistics, Mr Cele, we hope you think of the four-year-old girls Bokgabo Poo, Mia Botha and Chevonne Rusch, whose bereaved parents cannot process their deaths because the DNA backlog halts their murder investigations. CeleMustGo

11/11 Action Society has instructed its legal team to bring a PAIA application to clarify the state of the DNA backlog, including ringfenced, newly backlogged and monthly entries. CeleMustGo WeWillNotShutUp https://t.co/mbAeV6bbqF