Khayelitsha police in shambles - report
November 12 2012 at 11:38am
By Lynnette Johns
By Lynnette Johns
INSLA
Three men suspected
of stealing plead for their lives before being necklaced by a vigilante mob in
Enkanini, Khayelitsha. Photo: Nombulelo Damba/WCN
Cape Town - A report on the state of
policing in Khayelitsha has revealed a force on the brink of collapse, with
high levels of misconduct, absenteeism, and criminal cases not being adequately
investigated.
It also shows that over 14 months, 78
people were killed by vigilante mobs, more than four times the number
originally estimated.
There are 656 staff based at three
police stations and over a year there were a staggering 701 disciplinary cases,
some of which involved repeat offenders, including high-ranking officers. The
three police stations in Khayelitsha perform their shifts with the minimum
number of staff due to officers being absent on sick leave, leave or rest days.
The report said it was found that
suspects were arrested and released without being charged, and witnesses and
complainant statements are often not recorded.
The report is the work of a task team
sent by national police chief Riya Phiyega to investigate the Khayelitsha
police following complaints by NGOs about a breakdown in relations between the
community and the police and an increase in vigilantism.
The task team carried out their
investigation in July.
However, at the same time Premier Helen
Zille was setting up a commission of inquiry into the same allegations.
“The reported contents of the internal
SAPS assessment of the state of policing in Khayelitsha reveal a dire
situation. This underscores the need for a commission of inquiry, which
[should] not be further delayed,” said Zille.
The report is part of provincial
commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer’s affidavit, included among court
papers filed by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa in his attempt to stop Zille’s
commission of inquiry.
The matter is to be heard by the high
court on Monday.
In his affidavit, Mthethwa accuses
Zille of playing politics and of having a political agenda in setting up the
commission. He accuses her of wanting to conduct an inquiry into what should be
a criminal investigation falling beyond her statutory and constitutional
purview.
“It is inconsistent to allow the
premier as a political functionary to authorise coercive criminal investigations
as this opens the door to abuse for party political gain,” he said.
On Sunday, Joel Bregman, of the Social
Justice Coalition - one of the five NGOs who spent two years trying to get the
police and the provincial government to investigate the Khayelitsha police -
said the report reflected the realities on the ground.
“It speaks to a vicious cycle, where
the community does not trust the police and won’t hand over information and
then take the law into their own hands,” Bregman said.
Some of the charges levelled against
police officers include misconduct relating to the investigation of crime,
including failure to send charged suspects to court and to register dockets.
The report said steps taken against
officers were not proving to be a deterrent or remedy, considering the number
who were repeat offenders.
From April 2011 to June 2012, 78 cases
of vigilantism were recorded, according to a study by the cluster commander’s
office. The study focused on cases that could be considered “bundu court” executions.
According to the report, investigations
by detectives did not result in any “extraordinary achievements or successes”.
Although Khayelitsha is one of the
Western Cape’s most densely populated areas, with high crime levels,
experienced police officers have been attached to other units in the province.
The report says 65 percent of warrant officer and 59 percent of sergeant posts
at the Khayelitsha police station are vacant.
Timeline of inquiry showdown:
On Monday, Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa
goes head to head with Premier Helen Zille in the Western Cape High Court to
stop the commission of inquiry into the police.
Following months of agitation, NGO’s
operating in Khayelitsha handed Zille a formal complaint in November last year.
On June 15, the Western Cape government
decided there was “adequate prima facie evidence” to warrant the establishment
of a provincial commission of inquiry.
On August 22, Zille announced the
inquiry. At the end of August she announced that she would be ploughing on
regardless of a request from Mthethwa to halt the inquiry, which he said was
premature and unnecessary as there was an internal police investigation under
way and Zille had not used the intergovernmental tools at her disposal.
On October 29, the first day set down
for the inquiry, it was announced that the police were threatening legal
action.
Mthethwa served papers last week,
asking the court to interdict the inquiry from continuing.
The commission announced it was
suspending its public hearings pending the outcome of the court hearings.
lynnette.johns@inl.co.za
Cape Argus
