Cape Town - Children who were allegedly shocked with electrified riot gear at a Cape Town facility were not all juvenile detainees but placed there by the state for care and protection, the chief magistrate at Wynberg Magistrate’s Court said on Monday.
Magistrate Helen Alman, who referred the case to the Human Rights Commission, said that along with children (under 18) in conflict with the law, Bosasa Horizon also housed children placed there for care and protection.
“The children who made complaints, and who were subsequently referred to Ottery Youth and Education Centre, were… not facing criminal charges.”
After riots erupted at Bosasa Horizon Children’s Centre in Eerste River in August, police officers and correctional services officials were enlisted to restore order.
Testimony from a social worker and two boys alleges that electrified riot shields were used to shock the children into submission. They may also have been used by facility staff to punish children for other offences after the unrest.
Robert Macdonald, acting head of the Department of Social Development, said his department and Bosasa had investigated the violent riots at the facility, and had found no evidence that riot gear was misused.
A boy who claimed he was shocked by “security” had only been at Bosasa Horizon a few weeks when the unrest began. The boy, 17, does not have criminal charges against him, and was admitted for “behaviour” and for “being a gangster”.
His father, who cannot be named to protect his son’s identity, said: “He phoned me and told me that they shocked him. He was locked up the whole day in a cell.”
The boy said everybody at the facility had been punished for the misbehaviour of children who tried to break out.
“The others guys had broken out and the security shocked them,” his father said. “He said the other kids were rude so they came into the cells and were just shocking everybody.”
The boy asked his father to speak to a social worker, who helped them lay a complaint in court. The boy was removed from Bosasa Horizon and placed at Ottery Youth and Education Centre.
Correctional services regional commissioner Delekile Klaas said the department did not use riot shields. “We do not have those things, so we don’t use them and we are sure the cops wouldn’t use it unless the facility was in danger.”
Police spokesman Andre Traut was not aware of any police involvement.
“Any allegations of brutality should go directly to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. We welcome any investigation,” he said.
Cape Argus