An elderly farmer was allegedly called a “white
dog” by police officers, and told that “all white dogs in South Africa will be
killed”.
For
several weeks now, Volksblad has reported complaints from the community about
poor service delivery and alleged brutality by the police in Odendaalsrus.
Apparently
they even stood watching while a woman was cruelly assaulted by the father of
her child, despite her having a domestic violence interdict against him.
Rudi
van Vuuren has visited the new station commissioner, Senior Superintendent MB
Mbongo, to discuss what happened to his father, Gert van Vuuren, 68, on his
farm on Saturday. Gert was the head of the Odendaalsrus police reservists for
many years.
Called a racist
Rudy
said three police officers arrived on the farm Hilton in a police vehicle at
about 14:00 on Saturday. They told his father they were there to bring the R100
which a former farm labourer owed him.
One
of them asked why Gert would take money from a poor man, whereupon he answered
that the man owed him the money.
One
of the constables then allegedly called Gert a racist and also cursed his
mother.
Gert
told them to leave the farm immediately, whereupon they allegedly pulled out
their guns and called him a white dog. They then left.
Upon
his arrival on the farm, the policeman once again cursed his parents and his
sister.
They
tried to leave when he arrived, but he blocked the road with his vehicle and
took a pen and paper to get their names.
They
apparently refused to identify themselves at first, but after he told them that
he used to be a major in the commandos and that he knew his rights and the law,
one of the policemen identified himself. The driver of the vehicle, who was
doing the cursing, also identified himself.
Reinforcements
Rudy
said he then tried unsuccessfully to call the police station in town and 10111
in order to file a complaint against the policemen and get them off the farm.
While
he was on the phone, one of the policemen allegedly told Rudy he could call
Welkom, Bloemfontein and Pretoria; but no one would or could touch him.
After
Rudy had moved his vehicle and ordered the policemen to leave the farm, they
refused to do so and said they were waiting for reinforcements.
The
reinforcements then arrived, in no less than eight police vehicles.
When
Rudy questioned this, he was told they had been called out to the farm.
Apparently
they were told that a farm worker was being assaulted by the farmers on the
farm and that the policemen who had wanted to help the man had been attacked,
cursed, threatened at gunpoint and that the dogs had been set loose on them.
Rudy
said he would like to know, among other things, why charges of defeating the
ends of justice and crimen injuria were now being investigated against him and
his father.
He
would also like to know what the police had to do with private matters such as
the return of R100 and, to top it all, how they could use a police vehicle to
do so while they were on duty.
Complaint
Provincial
police spokesperson Superintendent Sam Makhele said people should first take
their complaints to the station commissioner, whereupon the matter would be
handled through the right channels.
Police
management understood the gravity of the allegations, but a complaint should be
filed against those police officers who commit offences so that the offences
could be investigated, he said.
By Tom
de Wet
Read more at http://www.censorbugbear.org/africa/south-africa/white-dogs-will-be-killed-south-african-police#jDWAQ3JGEFBsgbkJ.99
