Police Brutality and the 'Great White Shark' – transcript and audio: Albert Park Refugees:
November 11, 2008
Durban police constable Kwesi Matenjwa confesses – on the morning of Saturday, 1 November – how “the great white shark”, City Manager Michael Sutcliffe, ordered his unit to evict (without alternative accommodation) 47 desperate people, mostly from the Eastern DRC. Sutcliffe accused the refugees – mainly women and children – of being involved in “crime”, offering no evidence. But Matenjwa explained that a political rally on 4 November and the 2010 World Cup were the real reasons police tore down plastic shelters and confiscated refugee belongings – including vital immigration papers – without warning. In the process of their attempted eviction, the refugees’ human rights were “drowned”, Matenjwa admitted, a not uncommon occurrence for a Durban metro police force that regularly shoots to kill. The refugees vow to remain in Albert Park until they have a chance at dignity.
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