Tom de Wet
Welkom - An elderly farmer was allegedly called a "white dog" by
police officers, and told that "all white dogs in South Africa will be
killed".
For several weeks now, Volksblad has reported complaints from the
community about poor service delivery and alleged brutality by the
police in Odendaalsrus.
Apparently they even stood watching while a woman was cruelly
assaulted by the father of her child, despite her having a domestic
violence interdict against him.
Rudi van Vuuren has visited the new station commissioner, Senior
Superintendent MB Mbongo, to discuss what happened to his father, Gert
van Vuuren, 68, on his farm on Saturday. Gert was the head of the
Odendaalsrus police reservists for many years.
He was advised to file a complaint against the police officers involved.
Called a racist
Rudy said three police officers arrived on the farm Hilton in a police
vehicle at about 14:00 on Saturday. They told his father they were
there to bring the R100 which a former farm labourer owed him.
One of them asked why Gert would take money from a poor man, whereupon
he answered that the man owed him the money.
One of the constables then allegedly called Gert a racist and also
cursed his mother.
Gert told them to leave the farm immediately, whereupon they allegedly
pulled out their guns and called him a white dog. They then left.
When they returned later on, Rudy's mother telephoned her son.
Upon his arrival on the farm, the policeman once again cursed his
parents and his sister.
They tried to leave when he arrived, but he blocked the road with his
vehicle and took a pen and paper to get their names.
They apparently refused to identify themselves at first, but after he
told them that he used to be a major in the commandos and that he knew
his rights and the law, one of the policemen identified himself. The
driver of the vehicle, who was doing the cursing, also identified
himself.
Reinforcements
Rudy said he then tried unsuccessfully to call the police station in
town and 10111 in order to file a complaint against the policemen and
get them off the farm.
While he was on the phone, one of the policemen allegedly told Rudy he
could call Welkom, Bloemfontein and Pretoria; but no one would or
could touch him.
After Rudy had moved his vehicle and ordered the policemen to leave
the farm, they refused to do so and said they were waiting for
reinforcements.
The reinforcements then arrived, in no less than eight police vehicles.
When Rudy questioned this, he was told they had been called out to the farm.
Apparently they were told that a farm worker was being assaulted by
the farmers on the farm and that the policemen who had wanted to help
the man had been attacked, cursed, threatened at gunpoint and that the
dogs had been set loose on them.
Rudy said he would like to know, among other things, why charges of
defeating the ends of justice and crimen injuria were now being
investigated against him and his father.
He would also like to know what the police had to do with private
matters such as the return of R100 and, to top it all, how they could
use a police vehicle to do so while they were on duty.
Complaint
Provincial police spokesperson Superintendent Sam Makhele said people
should first take their complaints to the station commissioner,
whereupon the matter would be handled through the right channels.
Police management understood the gravity of the allegations, but a
complaint should be filed against those police officers who commit
offences so that the offences could be investigated, he said.
- Volksblad
Source:News24
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2450016,00.html
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