VAAL MARINA. – It seems like the nine policemen who are standing trial for the murder of Mozambican taxi driver Mido Macia after he was allegedly dragged behind a Police van, have set a trend.
Following a service delivery protest in Mamello near Vaal Marina 51-year-old Bonisile Mzangwa was apparently handcuffed to a police van and dragged through the streets of the informal settlement. This happened in full view of the community, including his 13-year-old son on Sunday.
The incident sent shock-waves throughout Sedibeng. Speaking at the local police station where he had gone to lay assault charges against the cops, the 51-year-old from Mamello in Vaal Marina, a small informal settlement near the banks of the Vaal Dam, said he was lucky to be alive after a police officer allegedly chained him to a moving police van. Mzangwa expressed shock and disbelief about the events that unfolded in front of his 13-year-old son. The father of five claims a policeman handcuffed him to a waiting police car and dragged him for over 100 metres. “I had stopped to ask what was happening (service delivery protest) and the policeman promptly handcuffed me to the car. He then drove off but residents rushed and stopped the car.
The cop didn’t even have the nerve to unlock me as residents came with the key and set me free,” he said. In anger, residents struck back by setting alight a police car and for the whole weekend the area was no-go due to the protest launched by residents. ANC Sedibeng chairperson Simon Mofokeng has lambasted the police officers accused of the brutal assault of Mzangwa. Mofokeng, who is also Sedibeng District Municipality Executive Mayor, was in the area to restore calm after residents launched a spate of service delivery protests. “We’ll see to it that justice prevails and that the perpetrators face the full might of the law,” he said to a crowded public gathering in the area on Tuesday afternoon. Mofokeng also warned residents not to take the law into their own hands. A video showing Mzangwa’s tragic incident, in possession of Sedibeng Ster, has since gone viral on social networks.
A community member who shot the video said the scenes of that day were horrific. Mzangwa’s younger brother said the incident has traumatised the entire family: “One of Bonisile’s sons has been arrested together with two other residents. Another son of his was scarred for life after watching helplessly as cops dragged his father’s body around the township’s streets.” The remains of the torched police car are still in the small squatter camp close to where the incident took place. The family is planning to approach the Independent Police Investigative Directorate for assistance. View the video at www.sedibengster.com
