Former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has shared information about sex assault allegations against a Mpumalanga police station commander, All4Women reports.
The accusations were repeated in video that has since gained traction on social media.
Mashaba said: “Right now, I’m working on a case in Lydenburg police station where the station commander is accused of sexually abusing junior police officers.”
He went on: “How are we going to really stop gender based violence when the police themselves are abusing women police? That shows you how deep the problem is.”
Mashaba said that he had notified senior police officials, but “the South African Police Service (SAPS) is refusing to really prosecute this person.”
In a video posted by Mashaba on social media, Pompie Ledwaba, the president of the Mashishing Civic Coalition, repeated these allegations.
“In Lydenburg Mashishing police station, a station commander is known for sexually, for having sexually molested young women trainees,” says Ledwaba in the video.
“These young girls have been on social media telling the people of this country they know how to be sexually molested for five years.”
Ledwaba reiterated the allegations to All4Women.
“It is as if in Mpumalanga we do not have a police force because our officers are themselves criminals.”
Ledwaba said that despite the officers going public with their claims, the commander in question remains active in the force.
Comment has been requested from the SAPS regarding these allegations. This developing story will be updated accordingly once the SAPS response is received.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
