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Johannesburg, South Africa, May 30, 2023 - While Police Minister Bheki Cele releases the fourth quarterly crime stats on Tuesday, shocking news has emerged from Durban where the 10111 call centre has been non-functional for six days.

From Thursday to Saturday evening, the South African Police Service (SAPS)’s 10111 number in Durban was totally non-functional, leaving millions of residents helpless.

Police said that the 10111 number in Durban remained down, but calls had been rerouted to the call centre in Pietermaritzburg, which has a fraction of the strength of Durban.
The issue of Durban’s 10111 non-functionality pertains to a technical fault on the side of Telkom. Police sources said that the issue had a devastating effect on both their morale as well as frustrated residents.

One such resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that he tried to call 10111 on Thursday to report a woman who was kidnapped and subsequently raped.

"I was ped off. On Thursday evening I tried to call 10111, on more than one occasion - I think I have five calls on my call log. I could not get through in trying to get police assistance. In the end, the girl who was taken forcefully, was raped. We had to take her to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital."

But KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda said that the reporting of crimes had not been compromised.

"The eThekwini 10111 calls have been rerouted to the Pietermaritzburg call centre. No reporting of crimes has been compromised."

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Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: https://ewn.co.za

Date Posted: Wednesday, May 31, 2023