Durban — A June 17 incident in which a Pietermaritzburg police officer was allegedly manhandled by other officers at a roadblock, was one of two such incidents reported in the past eight months.
Sergeant ST Madlala, at a roadblock in Mbali, was allegedly forced to lie on the ground, and police allegedly ordered his sons, aged 12 and 4, to do the same.
The boys’ mother, Deli Madlala, protested against this and screamed while watching her husband allegedly being attacked, and the officers then allegedly sprayed the interior of their car with pepper-spray.
In March an officer also based in Maritzburg, who did not lay charges, said he was allegedly forced to do pushups by police and when he complained that he was tired, he was assaulted even after informing the officers he was also a police officer.
“I didn’t see the point of opening a case; there have been many opened but nothing seems to be done.
“They were not wearing name badges and wearing masks; no number plates. I lost my phone that day,” said the officer, who explained that they had been walking in Willowfontein when they were stopped by the officers.
In December another officer, Mbongeni Mkhize, who did open a case, was allegedly slapped and assaulted by officers, which saw his left eardrum affected. His spectacles were also damaged.
In all three of these cases, the officers accused of perpetrating the violence were said to have been deployed to the province from elsewhere.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is investigating the two reported incidents.
Spokesperson Lizzy Supin, in relation to Madlala’s case, said: “Yes, Ipid has registered the case. Our investigation is under way.”
Supin said that they were also investigating Mkhize’s case which she added was registered on December 24, 2021.
“It is alleged by the complainant that on December 21, at 8pm, he was driving his vehicle when police flashed lights at him. He stopped and opened the window. The members came and flashed the torch in his eyes and slapped him across the ear with an open hand.”
The two officers who opened cases are eagerly awaiting justice and confirmed that the incidents had taken place. However, they told the Daily News they would not comment on them as they were not allowed to speak to the media.
Instead, they referred the paper to those who had been with them when the incidents took place.
Deli Madlala said that on June 17 she had been travelling from a mall with her family, her husband and their two sons aged 12 and 4.
In Mbali unit 2, they came across a roadblock and noticed that the officers at it were not from Maritzburg; they stopped her husband and he got out of the car.
“Once out of the car they wanted him to lie down on the ground; he asked why he had to lie on the ground because they could search him standing, and he also said they could search the car.”
She said while her husband was reasoning with the officer wanting him to lie down another officer approached them in the car and wanted the boys to also lie down.
“When he (her husband) refused to lie on the floor, one officer kicked him, trying to get him down. He kicked once and he didn’t fall and when he tried again and he didn’t fall, they came to him as a group trying to take him down.”
Deli said they roughed up her husband until he fell to the ground, and while on the ground they told him to go.
“What’s infuriating is that they didn’t search him, so what was their intention in the first place? I was screaming and crying out while this was happening and the police used pepper spray on us in the car twice. Why would you want to make a 4-year-old lie on the ground?”
She said her husband went straight to the Plessislaer police station to open a case following the incident. She said her children had been traumatised by the incident.
“Who is going to protect us if the police treat people like this; an unarmed person treated like that?”
Siphamandla Kheswa, who was with Mkhize when he was allegedly assaulted, said that when Mkhize told the officers that he was an officer they continued to assault him.
“They called him a corrupt officer while hitting him; there were about five or six of them. “They drove off slowly and he decided to follow them.
They stopped and he went to confront them; however, they assaulted him again.”
Daily News