MATSULU – Members of this community are threatening to take to the streets in protest against the infamous police unit, the Tactical Response Team, better known as amaBeret.
This comes shortly after the so-called elite police unit, joined by regular members of the SAPS and of the Community Policing Forum, raided local taverns where they assaulted patrons for no apparent reason.
Lowvelder has reported numerous times on the unnecessary force used by TRT members in their fight against crime. In fact, in August, the High Court in Gauteng ordered the minister of police to pay the damages Mr Jan Coetzee could prove after being brutally assaulted by TRT members at his home at Gomgat in February 2011. He had to be hospitalised and receive a blood transfusion after they shot him with rubber bullets at close range.
This week a local TV station showed a video of the incident in Matsulu which was recorded by CCTV cameras in one of the taverns. The footage shows how the TRT and SAPS stomped into one of the taverns ordering, patrons to lie down. They proceeded to beat and kick them and even emptied liquor bottles onto them.
Speaking to this paper, the organiser of the planned protest, who identified himself only as Mavuka, said the community was now sick and tired of the treatment they receive from members of the TRT.
“We have submitted a memorandum to the Matsulu Police Station commander to ask for his intervention in this regard, but to date we have received no correspondence from him and hence we are now going to embark on a protest never such as this town has never before experienced,” he threatened.
This journalist personally went to see the Matsulu police commissioner about this matter, but he refused an interview.
One of the victims, Mr Lucky Malele who suffered head injuries after he was assaulted by the TRT, painted a rather sad picture of what happened on the night of October 26.
“We were chilling with friends when suddenly they came in and ordered everyone to lie down. We did as they asked and they started searching everyone there but couldn’t find anything and after that, they ordered all the females to go out. That is when they started assaulting us for no reason at all,” he said.
He added that they were even denied their right to lodge formal complaints with the Matsulu police, but said he then went to report the matter to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate which took up the case.
Brig Selvy Mohlala, provincial police spokesman, said on enquiry, that they were still studying the video and would comment at a later stage.
• View a video of the assault in a Matsulu tavern online
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Other instances of police brutality displayed by TRT members, on which Lowvelder has reported, include:
• In January 2011, Mr Henk Kaldenberg was apparently assaulted by TRT members when he was on his way back from holiday in the Kruger National Park.
• Const Eugene Mambane, a TRT member, was charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and the discharge of a firearm in public. It followed after he had allegedly shot at an unarmed man in Rob Ferreira Hospital’s foyer.
• Const Hlayisane Nyathi, stationed at the KaBokweni Police Station was apparently manhandled by members of the TRT to such an extent that he sustained internal bleeding and had to be hospitalised.
• The mother of a teenager opened a civil case after her son was so badly assaulted that his genitals were permanently damaged.
• Another case was opened by a man who was allegedly doing illegal spinning moves with his vehicle and was shot with live R5 rifle bullets.
• On August 30, a Nelspruit woman was allegedly assaulted, called a “white bitch” and threatended with a rifle by a member of the TRT. The case is currently being investigated by the IPID.