SAPS discussion and news

[playtym]

[baboon6]

This guy must have flipped out completely; understandably so. Though of course I don't condone what he did.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...g-rampage.html

Turns out this loon doesn't even have a daughter, he's just a complete nutter. And not a Springbok:

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...rders-20110331

Durban - Joseph Ntshongwana, the 34-year-old former Blue Bulls rugby player accused of three axe murders, has a history of mental disturbance.

This emerged on Wednesday when he appeared amid tight security in court for the first time on charges of murder, attempted murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

He was arrested at his parents’ house in Yellowwood Park, Durban, on Tuesday in connection with a spate of axe attacks over the past two weeks. One of his victims was decapitated and his head dumped in a bin.

Following earlier media reports that the killer was seeking revenge for the rape of his daughter, who was allegedly infected with HIV in the process, it emerged on Wednesday that Ntshongwana does not have a daughter.

According to informed sources, rape is not mentioned in the statement by the complainant (who survived an attack) to police. In the victim’s sworn statement, he said the attacker said: “You gave my baby girl HIV”.

Police guarded all the doors in courtroom 10 at the Durban Magistrate’s Court and only the media were allowed to attend the hearing.

The tall, lean Ntshongwana, wearing a red T-shirt and black sweat pants, bowed his head and followed the proceedings with folded arms.

During his rugby career, he played for the Barbarians in 1996, for the Blue Bulls from 1998 to 2000 and for the South-western Districts Eagles in 2002.

Psychological observation

Advocate JP Broster, for Ntshongwana, told magistrate Anita Govender he plans to apply for his client to be sent for psychological observation under article 77 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

A psychologist’s report about Ntshongwana’s medical history was handed to the investigating officer.

Dr Gérard Labuschagne, commander of the police investigative psychological unit, who has been involved in the case since last week, said article 77 is meant to determine if a person is fit to stand trial and able to contribute meaningfully to his defence.

If this is not the case, an accused can be declared a state psychiatric patient until his condition improves enough to stand trial.

Prosecutor Martin Mtambo indicated that he wants Ntshongwana examined by a district surgeon to determine if psychological assessment is necessary.

The headless body was found in Lamontville and the man’s head in a bin in the Jacobs industrial area. Two bodies of people who were hacked to death were found nearby.

Police raided Ntshongwana’s home and found a weapon and blood-stained clothes.
The case was postponed until April 7.

[curious george]

Parties condemn Ficksburg killing

2011-04-14 19:53



Related Links

• Ficksburg protesters set buildings alight
• Call for full inquiry after protest death
• Ficksburg tense after protest death

kalahari.net

• Disability Protests
  Offers a sociological analysis of 30 years of protests. Now R1,083.95
  
  buy now

Johannesburg - The killing of a man during a protest in Ficksburg - allegedly at the hands of the police - was widely condemned by political parties, trade unions and civil society on Thursday.

Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) Free State secretary Sam Mashinini said: "This is really bad for the province and the country and we call for a thorough investigation into this matter and anyone who is found to have misused his powers... must face the might of the law."

The union federation was "shocked and disgusted" by the death.

The secretary-general of the Pan Africanist Youth Congress of Azania, Lucky Khoza said: "We've said it before: that militarising the police will not yield any good results in fighting crime, but will only result in the police unleashing brutal force against the poor."

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA said the assault was a reminder of apartheid hit squads that used to "kill and torture our people in townships"

The regional secretary Andile Zitho said: "We are really worried that our country is gradually degenerating into a police state where the police are a law unto themselves."

The Democratic Alliance said footage of the killing, broadcast on SABC news, showed the ANC government was willing to use apartheid-era policing tactics to clamp down on service delivery protests.

MP Wilmot James said: "It's a deplorable and desperate act that shows just how badly this administration has lost its way.

"It's also completely unacceptable that the ANC government has now attempted to censor the broadcast of this story by writing to the Independent Communications Authority of SA."

Media Monitoring Africa welcomed the decision by the SABC to give prominence and attention to the crime, but was concerned about discrepancies in how the story had been reported.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union called on Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele to ensure those responsible for the crime were charged.

"This reckless conduct by the police is nothing new and the unions have experienced it first-hand," spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said.

African Christian Democratic Party president Kenneth Meshoe said the police had behaved like a "pack of hyenas".

According to the SA Municipal Workers' Union the incident was a reflection of the current state of South Africa's democracy.

Spokesperson Tahir Sema said the government needed to "rein in" the out-of-control forces and engage with them on how service delivery issues could best be resolved.

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation said it raised important concerns about the standard of police training and the overall standard of leadership within the SA Police Service.

"The use of force needs to be recognised for what it is... and appropriate steps taken to ensure that members are able to uphold the appropriate standards for using force," it said in a statement.



http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...lling-20110414

[curious george]

http://www.news24.com/Galleries/Imag...in%20Ficksburg

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/ADMINI%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]Also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiZ-ehzZRCM

[curious george]

This is overlapping other threads in "political discussions".

Police brutality and repression in RSA is alive and well.The "liberators" are truely well on their way to being oppressors,but the world will do and say NOTHING!

Your politicians wont find this "sexy" enough,or politically correct to do anything about it!

[curious george]

Police violence has become rife in South Africa.


A very similar scene of excessive police-violence was also filmed in March this year in broad daylight on a crowded South African street:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMSHm3mph3U&feature=player_embedded.
The violence and corruption by the SA police towards the public has become so rife over the past few years that the crime-fighting cellphone-group eblockwatch.co.za has launched a new feature called Policing the Police, where its members can call an emergency number and send their recorded conversations with police officers and other ANC-officials who harass, try to elicit bribes or are threatening them directly to fellow-members – and a central unit records and broadcasts these conversations as evidence.
http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2011/03/crime-reports-march-24-2011.html
Police violence in 2009/10:
http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2011/03/crime-reports-march-24-2011.html
Police violence in 2008:
http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2008/11/sa-police-brutality-and-criminality.html
http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2011/03/crime-reports-march-24-2011.html
Afrikaners tortured in police custody:
http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2010/11/afrikaners-tortured-killed-by-saps.html


Pictures: Alzheimer sufferer James Brown, 98, was arrested and dumped in a police cell at the Kriel police station for forgetting to pay for a chocolate bar at a supermarket. The confused old man had wandered away from his home and relatives rushed to the police station to try and get him released. Police refused to let him go until the next morning. The old man was put in a cell by himself for the night, and his relatives found him dead, with these fresh injuries the next morning. Nobody has ever been arrested or charged for this murder on this utterly defenceless, confused and frail old man. In fact the case has been mentioned in just a few small lines in local newspapers.
the murder of Andries Tatane: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiZ-ehzZRCMkjkdjd


*whilst I dont necesarily agree/endorse with all the viewpoints expressed on this blog,they do often have a point.Also,to me its a source of the kind of stuff that the mainstream pc newspapers mostly prefer to(self)censor/underplay for some reason.As South Africans we are all guilty of "lets-rather-not-talk-about-it,it-looks-bad-for-foreign-investment/the-world cup",etc.Apparently one is "negative","racist",anti-this or that....

[playtym]

6 policemen held for protester's death

Johannesburg - Six policemen have been arrested in connection with the killing of Andries Tatane who was beaten to death during a service delivery protest in Ficksburg, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) said on Sunday.
The six men, arrested on Saturday, were from the public order police unit in Bloemfontein, ICD spokesperson Moses Dlamini said.
Four of the men were being charged with assault and two with murder. ICD executive director Francois Beukman told SABC news on Sunday that this type of police brutality could not be tolerated.
Police allegedly fired rubber bullets into Tatane's chest and then beat him with batons on Thursday.
Tatane was allegedly attacked by at least six policemen "simultaneously", according to media reports.
He was seen holding his hand against his chest after the assault and collapsed about 20 minutes later. He died before an ambulance arrived. The police confirmed on Wednesday that a man had been killed during the protest.
The residents of Meqheleng township were marching to the Ficksburg municipal offices to hand over a memorandum relating to service delivery issues when the incident took place.

Watershed

Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille on Sunday said the tragic events in Ficksburg would one day be a watershed in South Africa's history.
"The image of Andries Tatane being beaten and shot by the police is seared into our consciences.
"He committed no crime. All he did was protest against the collapse of service delivery in his town."
Zille said the right to peaceful protest was protected by the constitution, so the police should have been protecting his rights, not following their "shoot-to-kill" orders.
The Young Communist League of South Africa welcomed the arrest of six policemen.
"This swift arrest...shows the determination of the ICD to ensure that this case is ultimately resolved," spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said in a statement.

Abuse of power

"The murder of Tatane has opened in the eyes of many South Africans the abuse of power and authority by the police, and a call for sober discussions on whether the 'licence to kill' that has been encouraged by seniors in our police system has not turned our police into a violent and trigger happy machinery."
The Congress of the People on Sunday said the six policemen were only arrested once activists and the public pressurised Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa to take action.
"This shows that the more active citizens are, the less excess will be tolerated in the government," spokesperson Philip Dexter said in a statement.
"In a society which is plagued by rampant corruption, renegade civil servants, including some SAPS members, citizen action defends democracy and the constitution."
Dexter said Tatane's death must not be in vain.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/6-...death-20110417

[baboon6]

Unfortunately the chances of getting a conviction in this case are rather low:

The ICD is investigating Tatane’s case, but the Social Justice Coalition warns the chances of a successful prosecution are slim. “In 2008/9, the ICD received 378 reports of common assault, 828 of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and 372 of attempted murder. Of these, only six of each resulted in successful prosecutions – percentages of 1.58, 0.72 and 1.61 respectively. While there are no doubt examples where the police were innocent of wrongdoing, these numbers seem heavily skewed.”

More on the incident here:

http://www.thedailymaverick.co.za/ar...lice-brutality

[playtym]

Cops in the dock for stealing dollars

Johannesburg - Five former policemen appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court on Tuesday for allegedly stealing $77 000 from a police station.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohale Ramatseba said the case against the five suspects was postponed to May 19.
Former Lieutenant Colonel Caroline Mokatse, 44, Captain Moses Lefember, 37,Constable Rabie Segooa, 30, Constable Avhapfani Siaga, 29, and Warrant Officer George Setsiba of the Hillbrow police station all had their bail extended by the court.
"The court appearance of the suspects is a sequel to $600 000 confiscated by members of the Tactical Response Team in Polokwane on 4 August 2010 along Polokwane-Makhado road," Ramatseba said.
"A 50-year-old suspect, Mr Faizel Mohammed, was arrested for contravening the Currency and Exchange Act and the Income Tax Act relating to the foreign currencies."
The confiscated $600 000 was counted at Polokwane police station "under the watchful eye" of Mokatse.
"It is alleged during the counting, $77 050 went missing," said Ramatseba.
The case of theft of foreign currency was investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations in Limpopo with the assistance of the SA Revenue Service.
Mokatse's house was searched and about R127 000 cash and $3 800 was allegedly found hidden in a shallow grave in her yard.
"Some of the money was allegedly used by the suspect to purchase expensive furniture, building materials and settled some of her accounts," Ramatseba said.
Segooa was allegedly given R75 000 cash by Mokatse.
Mokatse, Lefember, Siaga and Segooa have since been dismissed.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...llars-20110419

[drevil5000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hop4oq-oPVs

[playtym]

ATM robbers shoot cop in face

Johannesburg - A police constable was shot dead and another officer wounded when they attended to an ATM bombing scene in Zonkizizwe, Gauteng police said on Tuesday.
Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said the incident occurred on Monday night around 20:00.
Constable Fihliwe Mavis Bengeza, 25, died in hospital after she was shot in the face, he said.
"Her colleague, Constable Sihle Mbatha, 27, was shot in the leg and he is recovering at a local hospital.
"They were shot when they responded to an ATM bombing at the taxi rank," Dlamini said.
A second police vehicle, also responding to the robbery, was shot at but no one was injured.
The suspects, who were allegedly armed with rifles, escaped in a silver VW Golf after taking an undisclosed amount of money from a bombed ATM.
They are all still at large."
Dlamini said this was the second incident this year in which a police officer was shot and killed while attending to an ATM bombing.
In March, Constable Mogomotsi Masango was shot and killed in Hercules, west of Pretoria, by suspects travelling in a black Audi.
"Police are calling on the community to help curb the attacks on police officers and identify those involved, so that they can face the full force of the law."

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...-face-20110419

[playtym]

'Road rage' - elite cop held

Johannesburg - A 29-year-old Johannesburg Central police constable arrested for attempted murder in Limpopo was granted bail on Sunday, police said.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohale Ramatseba said the policeman's lawyer arranged bail with the Malamulele Magistrate's Court on Sunday, and he was granted bail of R1 000.
"The suspect is expected to appear before the Malamulele Magistrate's Court on Tuesday pending further police investigations," he said.
Ramatseba said the constable, who was attached to the tactical response team in Gauteng, was arrested on Friday for allegedly shooting randomly when his car collided with another car at Mavambe village in Malamulele.
"No one was injured during his indiscriminate shooting," he said.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...-held-20110424

[playtym]

'She's dying already, no point in calling the ambulance'

A car guard who said he witnessed the shooting of an unarmed civilian outside the Kempton Park police station, east of Johannesburg, told the Star newspaper that the policeman refused to call an ambulance.

Sipho Baloyi, had been helping Jeanette Odendaal (45) to park her car when she crashed into a stationary police vehicle. He said a police sergeant had then shot her after Baloyi alerted the police to the accident in the parking lot.

"A sergeant came around from the charge office and walked out of the station. He didn't say anything, but walked to her passenger window. He shot her upper arm and it looked like the bullet went through her breast and out of her chest," said Baloyi.

The police officer then walked back into the police station, but returned a few seconds later.

Baloyi said he pleaded with the sergeant to call emergency services.

But, said Baloyi, the sergeant told him: "She's dying already, there's no point in calling the ambulance."

He said other police officers had then arrived and demanded to know from the sergeant why he had shot her. The sergeant then allegedly burst into tears.

Beeld newspaper reported that Odendaal, who lived in Aston Manor, a few kilometres from the police station, had wanted to report a case of disturbance of the peace.

The Star said her family were expected to arrive from Middelburg in Mpumalanga on Thursday to identify her body.

The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) said on Wednesday that the sergeant had been arrested and would appear in court soon.

It was believed that he mistook the noise of the crash for gun shots.

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-04-28-s...ling-ambulance

[playtym]

Refresher course for protest cops

Durban - South Africa’s 8 500 crowd control police officers will get a refresher course in handling protests, national police Commissioner General Bheki Cele said in Durban on Tuesday.
"The management took a decision in Kimberley last week to give them a refresher course on how to handle protests," he said while on a walkabout on a local beach.
The decision followed several recent incidents of police brutality that were reported to police watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate.

The most widely publicised one was the death of protester Andries Tatane, allegedly at the hands of eight police officers, during a service delivery protest in Ficksburg in the Free State on April 13.
"Protests should be handled properly. There should be no one who gets hurt. Protesters who become violent should be arrested," Cele said.
The 8 500 officers to be sent on the course worked on crowd control during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.
"They wont go for training all at once because there are too many."
On Tatane's death, Cele said: "The ICD is dealing with the issue. I believe there is progress."
The training would also remind officers how to use rubber bullets.
"There is a proper way of using rubber bullets. There has to be a certain distance [between the officer and the person being shot at],” he said.
There had been speculation that Tatane could have been killed by rubber bullets fired into his chest at close range.
Six police officers appeared in the Ficksburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday in connection with Tatane's murder.

Olebogeng Mphirime, Tehedi Moeketsie, Jonas Skosana and Mphonyane Ntaje, face assault charges, and Israel Moiloa and Mothusi Maqana charges of murder.
Two more Bloemfontein public order policing unit officers, a lieutenant colonel and sergeant, would appear alongside them later after being arrested last Wednesday.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...-cops-20110426

[curious george]

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-04-28-s...ling-ambulance

Nutjob?"police brutality","shoot the boer,kill the farmer(or his wife)",we can politicise this/these incidents,scream/shout from the roof tops....Yet,unarmed(!) & innocent(no criminals) keep on dying, but this the official sort of response.(In a real (western) democracy the whole top structure of the police would take resposibility/be held accountable?

Cele: Cops brutality reports isolated cases

Johannesburg - National police chief General Bheki Cele's office insisted on Thursday that recent reports of police brutality were isolated incidents.

"It will be important for us to treat those as isolated incidents instead of bringing them into one issue and cloud the matter around the issue of police brutality," his spokesperson, Major General Nonkululeko Mbatha, told SABC radio news.


http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...cases-20110428