The KZN legislature has weighed in on the conduct of eight cops who forcibly removed a colleague's vehicle from a workshop.
|||Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal legislature has weighed in on the conduct of eight policemen who stormed an eManzimtoti workshop and forcibly removed a colleague’s vehicle in spite of the fact the repair bill had not been settled.
Community Safety and Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu yesterday introduced a special debate on the incident - first reported in the Daily News on Monday - saying the policemen faced the possibility of disciplinary action.
Said Mchunu: “We are against any sort of criminality and intimidation in our province, regardless of who conducts it.”
Members of the legislature, from various political parties, joined him in condemning the incident and called for tough punishment against the policemen.
The DA’s Tom Stokes commended Mchunu for taking action saying: “MEC you’ve actually done the right thing and you’ve done it quickly.”
Lawmakers asked for regular updates on the investigation, saying they would closely monitor developments.
Apart from the criminal case opened at the eManzimtoti police station, Mchunu announced that the provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, had intervened and an internal investigation would be held. The matter would also be referred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.
The Daily News reported how the policemen - with sirens blazing and blue lights flashing - descended on Barry’s Auto Clinic on May 27 to forcibly remove a car belonging to a warrant officer from the eManzimtoti police station.
The warrant officer, who was also allegedly part of the gang that intimidated staff at the workshop, was named by Mchunu as SL Boya. He had been on duty when he and his colleagues went to the workshop to extract his private vehicle, a VW Caravelle, despite still owing money for the repairs.
Mchunu said the internal probe would be headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Siva Govender and would be conducted in line with the SAPS disciplinary regulations.
“Once the SAPS departmental investigation has been finalised, disciplinary steps will be instituted against the members involved.”
Mchunu said later that while the provincial police commissioner felt that the implicated policemen should be suspended, he had advised her against such a measure, at least for now.
Mchunu said he feared that without all the processes being followed the policemen could challenge their suspensions, which could be overturned in court.
“We would not want to suspend them and see them rebound… Investigations will determine whether there is any basis for their suspension and if there is she (the provincial police commissioner) would have to suspend them,” he said.
Mchunu told the legislature that police had obtained the CCTV footage and the vehicles involved had been identified as
a Mercedes-Benz Vito and a BMW belonging to the uMlazi Tactical Response Team and two Nissan Hardbody vans and a Toyota Hi-Lux belonging to SAPS eManzimtoti.
He said that all the police officers who took part in intimidating the staff at the workshop before removing the car from their premises had been on duty but were not authorised by their commanders.
The policemen had been identified as members of the Tactical Response Team in uMlazi and police from the eManzimtoti SAPS station.
“Their mere presence at Barry’s Auto Clinic extremely intimidated (employee) Mr Collen Ballard which enabled them to fulfil their actions,” Mchunu said.
He said his department would be watching the developments closely.
MPLs joined in the condemnation of the policemen’s actions.
Lourens de Klerk of the IFP said it was a shame that people who were entrusted with upholding the law were implicated in such conduct.
“I live there (in eManzimtoti) and to know they can do as they please makes me not feel safe.”
Stokes said that the incident was “an issue about anarchy”. He said the policemen should be interrogated as to why they felt they could get away with their actions.
“They must have felt they were protected in some way.”
Stokes said the portfolio committee should be updated regularly on the progress of the investigation.
Bheki Ntuli, the chairman of the legislature’s portfolio committee on community safety, said the committee would also be following the case.
He called on police to respect the law just as ordinary citizens were being urged to work with the police.
bheki.mbanjwa@inl.co.za
Daily News