TRICHARDT – Dr Emmanuel Taban, a pulmonologist in Trichardt, and his wife, Ms Motheo Phalatse Taban, a physiotherapist, were allegedly assaulted by Tshwane Metro Police Department officers on the R54 in Gauteng on Saturday, 20 June.
Dr Taban works at Midstream Mediclinic in Tshwane (Pretoria), but visits his private practice at Mediclinic Highveld in Trichardt a few times a week.
He was on his way to work that day to help Covid-19 patients, when he overtook a truck.
“There were two lanes and I was in the right-hand lane, but the road was narrowing into one lane, so I drove faster to get in front of the truck,” said Dr Taban.
He was then pulled over by the officers so he stopped and put his face mask on and opened the window of his car.
“The officer asked in Tswana for my licence and he continued to speak in Tswana.
“I asked him to please speak English, because I did not understand. He said he was going to arrest me,” said Dr Taban.
The officer then allegedly instructed Dr Taban to get out of his car.
The officer said Dr Taban was under arrest for driving over a solid line and for reckless driving.
Dr Taban asked if they cannot write him a fine, but the officer said Dr Taban had to be arrested.
Ms Taban also exited the car when the officer allegedly began to push Dr Taban around. She asked the cop why he was being aggressive.
“The officer began swearing at my wife and called her a whore because she sleeps with foreigners.
“He also asked me why I was behaving like a white person.”
According to Dr Taban, the officer also shoved his wife.
Dr Taban and his wife both recorded the traffic officers on their cell phones.
“That made the officer even more aggressive and the officers ordered us to follow them to the Lyttelton Police Station.
“Just as I was about to drive, my wife said I should get a photo of the number plate from the officer’s vehicle, because we did not know where they would take us.
“I got out of the car again and took a photo. The officer said I was not allowed, because I was under arrest.”
The officers then allegedly handcuffed Dr Taban and demanded his wife’s cell phone. They wrestled her to the ground.
The Tabans claim that the officer demanded the pin code for Ms Taban’s cell phone and then deleted all the photos she took of them.
Ms Taban managed to take Dr Taban’s cell phone from his pocket before the officer could find it. The cop allegedly became angry when he did not find the phone.
He then grabbed Dr Taban by his throat and allegedly threatened to kill him like George Floyd, a man who was recently killed by a policeman in America.
The officer allegedly choked Dr Taban until he passed out. At this stage Ms Taban gave Dr Taban’s cell phone to the officer. Dr Taban came to a few moments later and gave the officer the pin code for his cell phone.
The officer deleted all the photos and videos on Dr Taban’s phone.
The couple was taken to Lyttelton Police Station where Dr Taban was charged with reckless driving and assaulting a police officer.
Ms Taban had bruises on her neck and her lip was cut when the officers forced her into a vehicle.
“We feared that they were going to kill us,” said Dr Taban. “It is shocking that they terrorise people like this.
“I can now understand when people are robbed or attacked on farms and lying helpless in their houses.”
Dr Taban still worked on Tuesday because he said there were many patients who needed help, especially now with the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said he took some time off on Friday and his wife went to see a psychologist.
“I never used to get headaches in my life, now since the incident, I am having daily headaches,” said Dr Taban.
The Tabans opened a case against the six officers. They are also consulting a lawyer.
Dr Taban and his wife have three daughters aged three, six and 10 and the coupled adopted his niece who is 11 years old.
“What a future do we have in this country for our children if things carry on like this?”
He has been working in Trichardt for the past nine years and qualified as a pulmonologist in 2017.
“I love my tannies in Secunda and I cannot let them drive all the way to Gauteng, so that is why I still go to Secunda,” said Dr Taban.
He grew up in the south of Sudan, but because of war in Sudan at the time, he fled to South Africa in 1995 when he was only 16 years old.
He lost his father in the war and received support from Catholic missionaries in 1995 that helped him when he arrived in South Africa as a refugee.
He passed matric at Jeppe High School for Boys with distinctions and received a bursary to study to become a doctor.
He now holds three degrees.
