Where are we going?

For the first time in my life I am scared of living where I do... I watched a show on Sunday, it's kind of like a documenary/talkshow... and it scared the ---- out of me!

The show investigated our police and what they found was shocking... They are absolutely corrupt with power... where do you turn?

Here is a transcript from part of the show... it might be triggering... I don't really know if I am allowed to put it here... but... here goes...

In December last year, a security guard was killed by a gang of attackers during a cash-in-transit heist in Westonaria. Police rushed to the scene. First to arrive were Captain Ryno van den Heever and Inspector Fanie Botha.

Capt. Ryno van den Heever (SAPS Westonaria): “There was a group of people around the vehicle. We stopped and they opened fire. We took cover and returned fire.”

John Webb (Carte Blanche presenter): “The captain and inspector are two top cops with more than 30 years experience between them. They‘re highly respected in the local community and even have letters from police top brass recognising their outstanding achievements. But that counted for very little on that day because, after the heist, they were picked up by members of SOCS, the Serious Organised Crime Investigation Service.”

The SOCS members drove Ryno and Fanie to Johannesburg, telling them that a wounded suspect had accused them of stealing some of the heist money.

At Noswal Hall in Braamfontein the two were jostled up to the 19th floor and interrogated in separate rooms.

Soon they were told to undress and their hands and feet cuffed.

Ryno: “They kept on saying they wanted their money. We told them that the money found on the suspect was handed in and that we didn’t know about other money.”

But that was just the beginning of their ordeal.

Insp. Fanie Botha (SAPS Westonaria): “There were six or seven people in the office and I didn’t stand a chance. They sat on my feet and my back, and the one on my back said, ‘This is what happens when you don’t talk’. I could not see anything and the next moment they put a forensic bag over my head. After the second or third time I was convinced that I would not make it. They would continue until I said something that they wanted to hear or until I could no longer breathe.”

Ryno: “They smothered me about five times by putting the rubber tube of a tyre over my face to prevent me from breathing. I lost consciousness about four or five times.”

In the early hours of the next morning the two men managed to send text messages to their friends telling them they were being tortured. At daybreak they were taken back to Westonaria.
No charges were laid against them.

Later that day they returned to Noswal Hall with a photographer. Ryno had marked the office table between the torture sessions, while Fanie hid the cloth that was stuffed in his mouth under an air conditioner. Their injuries were also documented.

The Independent Complaints Directorate says the investigation is at a sensitive stage because senior police officers were involved.

John: “You effectively asked the ICD to investigate your colleagues… other police officers?”

Ryno: “That is correct.”

John: “How have other people in the service reacted to your decision to take action?”

Ryno: “They told us to be careful because they were unsure what would happen to us.
Several colleagues suggested we take stress leave and eventually resign from the
police. But I am a policeman.”

We were told that SOCS report directly to the Provincial Commissioner, but Director Phuti Setati, national spokesperson, was neither aware of such a unit, nor of an investigation into this case.

But do police top brass know of Noswal Hall?

Dir. Phutu Setati (SAPS Spokesperson): “We don’t know about such places where people are taken for torture. If anyone has information about such places we request that person [to] come forward and report that information to us immediately. It is against the law and Constitution.”

In the meantime, Ryno and Fanie are back on the job, trying to come to terms with what happened to them.

Fanie: “We’ve done a good job and we’re proud of it. And then this happened. I’m not going to let this slide. My self-esteem has been affected and I have been humiliated. While they were busy with us, I wondered if I would ever get to see my family again and if I would ever walk out alive.”

John: “After their ordeal Ryno and Fanie were able to rely on the support of friends, family colleagues and even their station commander. But what happens to those who aren’t that fortunate?… people who are disempowered, poor and helpless….”

Chris Sibanda has been the gardener at a housing complex in Sandton for the past 12 years.
In February last year - days after a burglary at the complex - he was taken away for questioning by a policeman allegedly claiming he was from the Brixton Murder and Robbery branch.
He drove Chris to this derelict building next to the Wynberg Magistrates Court [on screen], where they were joined by other policemen.

Chris Sibanda: “They said, ‘Take off your shoes’. I took off my shoes. They said, ‘Take off your top”. I take off my top. They say, ‘Take off your pants’. I take off my pants. They started asking me, ‘How many kids have you got?’ and I said, ‘Four’. [Chris emotional] They said I wouldn’t be able to have any more kids and no longer enjoy sex.”

The officers then administered electric shocks to Chris’s genitals, while he was tied to a chair with a sack over his head.

Chris: “If they torture me and the pain I was feeling I felt like a fool and I was doing this [clenching his fist] to avoid that thing. They said I had to speak the truth and I said, ‘I know nothing about that’, and they said, ‘You are lying!”

Chris was never charged and was released the same day. Nothing has come from the criminal case he made against the police and he is now taking civil action.

It’s all about power says Director Anton Grobler, Head of Psychology at Police head office in Pretoria.

Director Anton Grobler (SAPS Head of Psychology): “You will get your rotten apples. It is not part of the culture of this organisation anymore. I think changes in legislation clearly paved the way to say these are unacceptable practices.”

Fact is, brutality in the SAPS is rife. The ICD investigated 2 426 cases against the SAPS since 2004.

Piers Pigou (Director, SA History Archive): “The abuse of human rights by police does reflect a widespread problem of violence in South Africa. But of course it also manifests in situations where people have authority and power and control over people.”

Piers Pigou has a 14-year background in human rights investigations, with a particular interest in brutality and torture within the police.

Piers: “It’s police officers who are adopting a culture that they find inside the police and responding to expectations and pressures that they find from above, as well as the general environment… the very difficult environment, that police in South Africa have to operate in.”

The Metro Police also seem to be battling with abuse of power against the public.

Jackie Kotze told officers of the Cape Town Metro Police she was pregnant, yet on the 29th of December last year – with her two toddlers watching - she was handcuffed, thrown on the back seat of her car and driven to the police station.

Her crime?

She’d failed to drive off immediately when a traffic light turned from red to green, and she dared to ask an officer for identification.

The Metro Police released Jackie when they learnt she was a captain in the SAPS, but she received a warning that she is being investigated for inconsiderate driving and riotous behaviour.

Jackie Kotze: “I went to the doctor because my body ached, my shoulders ached, my back ached, my hands ached, my elbow ached, [Jackie emotional] my whole body was in pain and my soul was shattered and broken.”

A few days later Jackie lost her baby. She and her husband, Pierre, are now taking civil action against the Cape Town Metro Police. An internal hearing of the officers involved is yet to take place.

Well known South African singer, Phinda Matlala and her husband, Morgan, are still traumatised after an unprovoked assault on Morgan at the hands of the Johannesburg Metro Police.

John: “Morgan had just been discharged from the Milpark private hospital after undergoing successful surgery that cost him R78 000. It was to correct a botched operation at a Government hospital four years ago. Little did he know that it was money down the drain.”

On the 17th of January, his first day back at work, Morgan was kicked in the stomach by a Metro policeman who came into his office to see a copy of his driver’s licence.

Morgan Mahlala: “It was not what I was planning. It was not what I was expecting. My plan was to fix my wound so that I could lead a normal life. Only one day after my surgery and I am wounded again, and that day is going to cost me another six months.”

Morgan was rushed back to hospital.

Phinda Mahlala: “It was blood all over. His pants were wet… it was seeping as if a tap was opened.”

The wound is healing, but Morgan will have to undergo further surgery.

The officer involved has since been suspended.

Phinda: “I know there are very good cops out there who do their jobs and go the extra mile or more. But I wish they could put stringent things in place that would make sure that riff-raff like that doesn’t get into the force.”

Torture and brutality at the hands of the law usually happens without witnesses, but Pierre Jacobs and Bianca Bosman are watching video footage - captured on surveillance cameras two weeks ago - of their encounter with the SAPS.

The drama started around nine in the evening when Bianca and a friend were driving down a quiet suburban street. They were pulled over by an unmarked black BMW with a flashing blue light and no number plate. A man jumped out and approached their car.

Bianca Bosman: “My friend told me: ‘But this guy is having a beer bottle in his hand’. So I decided there is no way I am staying where I am at this moment.”

Bianca drove off, with the BMW in hot pursuit, until she was forced to stop at a red traffic light.

Bianca: “And this guy stopped next to me, got out of his car and tapped on my friend’s side of the car with his gun.”

Panicking, Bianca skipped the traffic light and headed for a well-lit filling station with several surveillance cameras. [On screen] Her car can be seen on the right, while the BMW – clearly without a number plate - can be seen on the left. The man in the passenger seat, later identified as a senior officer at the Garsfontein police station, approaches Bianca’s car with a gun in his hand.

He is not displaying any epaulettes - indicating his rank - on his police uniform. Pierre arrives after receiving a frantic call from Bianca saying her life was in danger. The policeman now seems uncertain of what to do. So… he makes up a story.

Pierre Jacobs: “The next moment he screams over the radio… grabs the radio and calls in that the vehicle that she is driving is stolen.”

Minutes later several police vehicles swoop on the filling station and 10 to 15 officers, armed with handguns and R4 rifles, surround Bianca’s car.

With the full force of the law behind him, the superintendent now seems to regain his confidence… and he drags Bianca from her car towards a waiting police vehicle. When Pierre comes to her aid, he too is manhandled.

Pierre: “I was grabbed against the throat, pushed against the pole, and they cuffed me immediately and threw me in the back of the police vehicle.”

Bianca was later given a R500 fine for disobeying a traffic sign, while Pierre was released without being charged.

Pierre: “We asked for statement papers. They said they could give them to us, but they don’t know if something will happen if we write a statement.”

Bianca: “They made us understand that evening that it will be futile to take any action.”

The buck does not stop at the police station, says Director Setati.

Director Setati: “They can report those things; there is also the Provincial Commissioners. But if they find themselves near our head office, we are here and maybe we can assist.”

An internal investigation into the incident has been launched.

I watched this show. Sadly, this sort of thing doesn't even come as a surprise to me anymore. No wonder so many of our own are immigrating. I won't even go for a walk without pepper spray and don't feel safe without my electric fencing.

I just can't believe that we have to live like this... It saddens me, because I love the sun so much.... I have willfully been ignorant to what has been going on lately... but I can't turn a blind eye anymore... I just hear too many stories... And you know Ruda and Derek don't suck it out of their thumbs.... that's the scary part!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{Pixie}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

I'm so sorry, Hon! There's corruption wherever there is power, or the sense of power. You just don't know who can or can't trust anymore. Do like Sabrina does and carry your own protection. Wish we were allowed to have electric fences in town here in the US.

(((((((((((( Just a pixie )))))))))))))

I'm sorry you're living in such a corrupt place... my dad used to live in S. Africa in the 1970s (Durban) and he said it was pretty violent then and that the police more or less did what they felt like.... one example he said was that he was once caught speeding and stopped by the police... they said they were going to take him to jail (not sure if they were bluffing or not)... so he said he was a British tourist (he was a resident there) ... and so they didn't do anything. But still... I can see your point. South Africa looks very beautiful and I would love to visit there in the future (if I could afford it and be able to cope witha 12-hr flight lol) but knowing the bureaucracy is corrupt does not inspire confidence and trust in it .

Wow Tomi... you can't have electric fences? Here it almost comes standard! My dad had a very good idea... he wanted me and my sister to get a good nights sleep for once, so he installed some extra security... it wasn't even that expensive...

He put movement sensitive light all around the house, and whenever it detects movement, not only did it go on, but an alarm sounded in the house telling you which light went on... ie where the movement was...
You can adjust the sensitivity, so that it doesn't pick up our cats, but soetimes, especially in winter it picks them up... but it's worth it... because you know if only one alarm goes off it's just an animal, if two or more goes off... it's person, because he would be moving away from the light... and triggering the next...

So I sleep soundly at night, but our cat got smart, he knows by now that when he walks past the light and it goes off.. the door 'magically' opens for him to come inside and he doesn't have to use the window! The lazy git!

I do have pepper spray - my bf tested it once... he sprayed some on his hands and sniffed it, but the fine spray got in his eyes, and when they started to burn, he started to rub his eyes!!! lol... He ran to the bathroom, having to help himself because I was crawling on the floor with laughter... He yelled at me to phone my mom for advice, and I did, but I was laughing so hard she thought I was crying... immediately assuming the worsed that someone had died... this just cracked me up even more and I just couldn't tell her nothing's wrong... so she raced home to see what was happening!!! That was too funny!

Lot of the people here in the park have security lights. Wish we had some. I've learned to depend on them when I take my dog for a walk after dark.

The way your dad set yours up is briliant! Cats aren't dumb, are they? LOL Mine has figured out which window is mine and if he gets left out after I go to bed, he comes to the window and screams until I let him in. He's also learned to come when he's called or he'll get left out! hehe

You're boyfriend is too much!! I can just picture you crawling on the floor trying to help and calling your mom!!

I used to have a friend that sprayed a tiny bit of her pepper spray inside my apt. I always knew she wasn't playing with a full deck! Lawd a macy, did she clear the place!! My youngest really got mad at her, I made a big deal about it but wasn't laughing too hard at first. She was dying laughing! She doesn't have asthma like I do! I couldn't help but laugh, though, because she was laughing so hard. Dim wit!!

Yeah... I can't help but feel sorry for people that are THAT stupid, lol.... at least they gave us a good laugh, eh?

On the whole pepper spray thing .... years ago I used to carry it on my keyring. One evening, I hugged an ex-boyfriend goodbye and as we were kissing, started gagging. In my enthusiasm I had gently been squeezing the pepper spray right into the back of his neck!

Sorry, off topic I know

Completely on topic!!!!!!! That is hilarious! Not quite the romantic moment you were hoping for....

I stopped being her friend because I couldn't handle her irrational thinking. Most of the time I'd walk away from her going or What finally did it was one night that she'd spent with me. When I woke up in the morning, she told me you have sleep in your eyes big time and you have dry drool on your chin. I hadn't even crawled out of bed yet!!!!

Ok, I know...

Don't worry about the topic!!!

mmmhhh, I'd get upset too if I had to wake up to a talking mirror...