Bheki Mbanjwa, The Daily News
Shackdwellers movement Abahlali BaseMjondolo has slammed the purchase of casspirs by the eThekwini municipality saying this amounted to the militarisation of the metro police department.
The organisation was reacting today after The Mercury carried a story revealing that the city is in the process of purchasing four casspirs at a total cost of R19.9 million.
The casspirs, being purchased from state-owned arms manufacturer Denel, will be used for crowd control and to deal with riot situations. Last night the city provided more details, saying the casspirs will also be used in land invasions.
“These vehicles will assist the Metro Police to carry out their duties while ensuring effective policing for crowd management deployment to ensure the safety of police members in riotous situations when rocks or petrol bombs are thrown,” said eThekwini spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa in a statement.