Cabbage Bandit sees red over size of men and women in blue

Controversial Tshwane resident Djo BaNkuna, who goes by the name Cabbage Bandit on Facebook and has almost 10,000 followers, has stirred up public debate on the weight and fitness levels of police officers.

BaNkuna first made headlines with his pavement cabbage patch after he said he had been  threatened with arrest by Tshwane metro police officers, and was fined R1,500.

Describing himself as “kind, friendly, arrogant and rude. Loved and hated by many,” he has now taken up the cause of obesity among members of the SA Police Service (SAPS).

“Today I met one of my homeboys, a young boy of 28 years old. Before he joined the SAPS he was thin, muscular and fit. A mere four years into the job, he has ballooned. So much that his stomach rivals that of my 9-month pregnant Bonsmara cow, Elizabeth,” BaNkuna said in a Facebook post.

He went on: “He is a police officer. He must be fit, very fit. How did he move from 65kg in 2017 to 95kg in February 2022? I care not. It is disgustingly shameful to see a KFC-condemned person sitting inside a baggy police uniform.”

His comments — ending with the opinion that serving officers who are obese and not physically fit should be “flushed out of the police force” — triggered many responses. Some agreed wholeheartedly with him and others condemned him for fat-shaming.

Independent researcher David Bruce, who specialises in the policing and criminal justice fields, said BaNkuna’s concerns are valid in light of the stressful and demanding nature of police work.

“But the police are coming in for a lot of criticism at the moment. A whole other angle to take would be to rather be supportive and call for those work conditions that make healthy living difficult to be addressed,” Bruce said.

He said the most recent SAPS annual report indicated that in the last year 176 officers left the job because of ill-health and 1,435 died. He concurred with BaNkuna’s view that police work is stressful, requiring mental and physical stamina.

Among the listed requirements for those applying to police college who qualify to train for the service is that all applicants be prepared to undergo physical and clinical assessments, and be physically and intellectually fit.

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