Migrants decry cop brutality
Migrants are appealing to government to intervene immediately to protect them from alleged police brutality. In the latest incident, Yusuf Ibrahim Hassan, a Somali refugee, this week related how he had been beaten by police in Bellville late last year. The 25 year old Somali showed VOC the scar on his face which he claims was a result of police assault. "I was sleeping inside a Somali owned Backpackers in Bellville when four white police men entered the room and started assaulting me. They hit me with a glass cup on the forehead, badly bruising me," he recalled.
Another Somali national, Mohammed Odey, told VOC police have made it a habit to invade Somali owned businesses in townships to exhort money. "The police have come to my shop several times, allegedly looking for contraband cigarettes and other illegal goods, but after failing to find anything illegal, they asked me for a bribe," Mohammed who owns a shop on the Cape Flats revealed.
When contacted regarding these allegations, officials at the Bellville police station where not willing to comment. "Tell those claiming to have been beaten by the police to come forward and open cases of assault. Then we shall have a comment for you," an official who did not want to identify himself, told VOC by telephone, before abruptly ending the call.
However, most migrants say they are afraid of opening cases against police officers for fear of reprisals. "I opened a case against the four white police officers who assaulted me. But another officer claiming to be a detective came to me and asked for my case number. When I went back to the police station to follow up the case, the docket was missing, Hassan stated, adding that he was also threatened by other officers, which caused him to drop the matter…..
Another Somali national, Mohammed Odey, told VOC police have made it a habit to invade Somali owned businesses in townships to exhort money. "The police have come to my shop several times, allegedly looking for contraband cigarettes and other illegal goods, but after failing to find anything illegal, they asked me for a bribe," Mohammed who owns a shop on the Cape Flats revealed.
When contacted regarding these allegations, officials at the Bellville police station where not willing to comment. "Tell those claiming to have been beaten by the police to come forward and open cases of assault. Then we shall have a comment for you," an official who did not want to identify himself, told VOC by telephone, before abruptly ending the call.
However, most migrants say they are afraid of opening cases against police officers for fear of reprisals. "I opened a case against the four white police officers who assaulted me. But another officer claiming to be a detective came to me and asked for my case number. When I went back to the police station to follow up the case, the docket was missing, Hassan stated, adding that he was also threatened by other officers, which caused him to drop the matter…..
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