Pretoria - An informal trading team of mother and son, Linah and Elvis Khoza, had a altercation with Tshwane metro police officers, got arrested and later paid their way out of court under suspicious circumstances.
Their arrest was captured on a phone by Sifiso Makhubela as it unfolded on the pavement of Boom Street, near its intersection with Bosman Street, on Thursday afternoon. The incident is the latest in the ongoing feud between metro police and informal traders, who have often accused members of the city's by-law enforcement unit of harassing them and “stealing” their stock.
In the footage, Makhubela captured the officers wrestling Khoza, who claimed to have sustained bruises to his arms in the process.
Makhubela told the Pretoria News one of the officers turned to him the moment they noticed he was recording the incident, but he managed to outrun them.
Back at the intersection, Khoza and his mother were arrested for trading without permits and taken to the Pretoria Central police station where they were locked up for the night.
Simon Makama, Linah Khoza’s husband, went to Pretoria Magistrate’s Court early on Friday to try and get them out.
He met Dzunani Ndlovu, who presented himself as an attorney, and explained his predicament.
Makama, who works for the City of Tshwane, said Ndlovu told him he would get the two released within 30 minutes if he paid between R250 and R500 for each person.
He paid, and before long, his wife phoned him from outside the building to say they had been allowed to leave without appearing in court.
Ndlovu was defensive when contacted for comment, saying he did not pocket the money. He said if Makama wanted confirmation of the payment, he should go to his offices at Brooklyn Bridge Office Park, which was reflected on the business card that he gave Makama.
He said: “I can confirm that they did not appear in court, but how I got them out is none of your business. You and them should be applauding that I managed to get them out, and that they are not spending the weekend behind bars.
“I told the husband the figure that he needed to pay in order to free his family members, but he had only R500, which I accepted.”
After studying the video clip and speaking to the officers in question, metro police spokesman Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the use of force became necessary because Khoza resisted arrest.
Mahamba said there was nothing wrong with the manner the officers went about their business. He said Khoza should lay charges if he felt that the officers assaulted him or that he was wronged in any way.
The Khozas had claimed their stock of fruit and sweets had been confiscated on a number of occasions, but they had never received a receipt for it – only fines for trading without a licence.
Mahamba distanced the metro police from court processes and the payment made to Ndlovu.
Pretoria News