Alleged suspect on video not confirmed serial rapist, says police
Gauteng police commissioner Lt Gen Elias Mawela condemns the video clip and appeals to social media users to consider the victims of crime and the negative implications their posted content could have on the process of ensuring justice for the victim.
The police have not confirmed – and condemned – a video circulating on social media depicting a man in handcuffs and claiming this is the alleged Ekurhuleni serial rapist.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt Gen Elias Mawela condemns the video clip and appeals to social media users to consider the victims of crime and the negative implications their posted content could have on the process of ensuring justice for the victim.
“We acknowledge that police have little control over the content posted by social media users on their private accounts,” he said.
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Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters said they have in the past issued several advisories, cautioning members of the public, particularly social media users, against the dangers of circulating images of alleged suspects before those suspects being charged and making an appearance in court.
“Due to this reckless practice that achieves nothing other than sensationalism, the hard work of investigators gets nullified as this ultimately compromises procedures such as identification (ID) parades and subsequent court proceedings,” said Peters.
“This practice inevitably favours the suspect in that the case gets jeopardised and the suspects might never face a day in court, while the actual victim of crime is disadvantaged and deprived of finding justice.”
Peters said section 69 of the South African Police Service Act of 1995 states that “no person may, without the written permission of the National or Provincial Commissioner, publish a photograph or sketch of a person who is suspected of having committed an offence, pending a decision to institute criminal proceedings against him or her” and, any person who publishes such a photograph or sketch “shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months.”
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