“Moer hulle!”
That was the famous rallying cry made by our former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula before the Springboks embarked on their World Cup trip in 2015.
Even though fans were shocked by such un-ministerial language, he managed to capture the gees of the rugby-loving public at that very moment.
And the mense cheered and chanted: “Moer hulle!”
That’s Mbalula for you. Mr Razzle Dazzle at his best.
This is one ou who simply can’t hou his bek, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and his outrageous remarks often make front-page headlines.
Lots of eyebrows were raised when Mbalula was appointed police minister in Jacob Zuma’s controversial cabinet reshuffle on 30 March.
What does a sports minister know about police, right?
But since his appointment, Mbalula has laid down the law and is proving his critics wrong.
In one of his first public statements, the minister shot from the lip and nearly shot himself in the foot.
It was the day before the DA’s anti-Zuma march to ANC’s Luthuli House when he warned: “We don’t want another Marikana.”
Yoh! Low blow, ne?
Not a good start for the new sheriff in town.
Since then, however, the minister has been top of the cop charts.
He sommer went after Hawks boss Berning Ntlemeza.
The courts mos found that Ntlemeza had no integrity and was unfit for the job.
Still, he had the gall to show up at work, attend meetings and then waltz out of HQ.
Mbalula soon showed him who’s boss, and sent out a special unit to track down Ntlemeza, his company car and cellphone.
He’s not bang to take on his own.
Speaking in Parliament this week, he vowed to crack down on corrupt officers in SAPS.
He said he would reclaim the streets from criminals and crush the “head of the serpent” of crime with brute force.
And he would secure schools and other places of learning, prioritise the safety of women, and conscientise the youth about crime.
That’s fighting talk, but actions speak louder than words.
Mbalula, though, is showing that he’s a man of action. He’s on the job, he’s all over the place.
Yesterday, he personally went to visit Leonsdale, where 13 people were shot – three fatally. And earlier this week, he was on the case after a robbery and hostage drama at Nyanga Junction.
“Those boys who tried criminality, they were too weak for our task force,” he said, congratulating his men in blue.
“We will never allow them to terrorise our nation. The criminals did not win. We shot to kill, today someone is fatherless. They didn’t get a cent and met fire with fire.”
Now, some may not agree with his “shoot to kill” approach.
But many of us, who are terrorised daily in our communities, might agree that a heavy-handed approach is exactly what’s needed to win the war on crime.
Munier would like to wish the minister good luck in his mission.
Zuma crony or not, we just need someone to make this country a safer place.