Commanders who fail to report cases of police brutality or misconduct to the Independent Complaints Directorate will be charged criminally.
That was the warning from newly-appointed head of the ICD in KwaZulu-Natal, Baatseba Motlhale, 35, at a media briefing on Friday.
Motlhale was the deputy provincial head of the ICD in the North West for the past six years, and had previously worked for the NPA. She will be supported by the deputy provincial head, Len John.
The warning from Motlhale is in keeping with the new Independent Police Investigative Directorate legislation, which is expected to come into operation by the end of the year, to protect the rights of citizens.
She said with the new legislation in place, it would be a criminal offence if commanders failed to report police misconduct or criminality to the ICD.
“In the past, commanders were not legally bound to report such cases to us. This law will now close that gap. It also ensures all types of offences committed by police officers are accounted for, and we can investigate with support from commanders,” Motlhale said.
“Citizens can also have greater assurance that police will now be held accountable for their actions.”
In recent months, several incidents of alleged police brutality and misconduct have come under the spotlight.
At the briefing it was also revealed that investigations into several high-profile cases had been or were in the process of being finalised.
ICD spokesman Moses Dlamini said these cases included that of a suspect who allegedly died as a result of police torture while in custody at Harburg Prison, outside Greytown, two weeks ago.
It has been alleged during a cell visit, police found tobacco and wanted to know who had smuggled it in.
The detainee was allegedly assaulted and a plastic bag used to suffocate him to extract information.
He died during the alleged torture.
A postmortem revealed an unnatural death. The ICD is conducting a full investigation.
In an separate incident, several police officers who allegedly shot and killed three Mount Moriah brothers in June last year are expected to know their fate in coming months.
The policemen were investigating a housebreaking incident in the area when the shooting took place.
They claimed when they entered the house of the alleged suspects, twins Xoli-sani and Mzothiswa, 25, and Zikhali-phele Memela, 22, opened fire on them. They said they returned fire, killing all three.
But a surviving brother alleged the police shot and killed the brothers and planted two firearms at the scene. The matter is with the DPP.
However Dlamini said the number of police brutality cases was on the decline.
Statistics are expected to be released in the ICD’s annual report in September. - Daily News