F. State Human Rights Commission slams police over alleged assault

The Free State Human Rights Commission has condemned the alleged actions and called for swift action by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate against police officers who allegedly assaulted a woman during a raid at her home in Sasolburg.

Police officers were allegedly looking for a relative of the woman who was suspected of possessing a stolen cellphone.

During the raid, the woman alleges that police assaulted her and threatened her husband. When the woman later went to the Zamdela police station to open a case regarding the initial incident, she was allegedly assaulted again by officers, who broke her leg.

The Commission’s Free State Manager Thonoko Modise says, “Under circumstances in which police come and assault people, they are actually in contravention of their code of conduct in the first place. Secondly, they are in violation of Section 12 of the act and Section 10 of the act and they are also violating the right of this person in terms of Section 35. People should be granted protection by police. The police cannot take the law into their own hands without this person being brought before the course.”