Johannesburg - A Springs man said his family would never again trust their Community Police Forum (CPF) after the father of two alleged he was assaulted by a CPF member outside his home.
Mxolisi Guntu, from Casseldale, Springs in Ekurhuleni, told The Star that on Saturday evening he was home with his wife and two teenage sons, aged 13 and 15, when the family experienced a power outage.
Guntu said the family thought the outage was caused by load shedding or their prepaid electricity had run out. However, the street lights outside were on.
“My older son went outside to his room and we noticed that there was a vehicle that had overturned across the road from the supermarket next to my house and the electricity box outside had been bumped by that car. That caused the power cut on our side,” the father said.
The rest of the Guntu family, their neighbours and the supermarket owners subsequently went outside to the scene where they found the Springs Casseldale CPF members already there.
“One of the CPF leaders said we must not worry and warned us to keep a distance from the crash scene while they called the metro police. He was also telling me that the driver of the vehicle ran and they were trying to chase him,” he said.
Guntu said while this was unfolding, he instructed his eldest son to bring his phone to take a video of the vehicle and the bumped electricity box.
“Not very long after a man came and said we were not allowed to take a video. I asked why because we were taking a video of what happened as the residents who were directly affected by the situation,” he said.
He said the man then allegedly approached him and said, “Ek sal jou bliksem!”
Guntu said a verbal spat ensued between him and the CPF member.
“He came towards me with a fist and punched me on my left jaw … He rushed to my son, who was taking the video, and when I got there he was reaching behind him and he had a gun. I stood in front of him and said ‘You beat me already, you don’t go to my son’ and if you shoot, you better start with me and shoot now,” Guntu said.
He said the situation was diffused before the member who allegedly assaulted him fled the scene. Guntu subsequently opened a case at the Springs police station.
Springs Casseldale CPF chairperson Andre van Heerden confirmed that Guntu reported the alleged assault to him. The chairperson said he was not at the accident scene when the alleged assault happened but he was informed that Guntu was allegedly under the influence of alcohol.
“The police must investigate and see what comes to light but I don’t know if he was assaulted and if he was, I don’t know who did it. There were a lot of people at the scene,” Van Heerden said.
Guntu, who confirmed that he was under the influence of alcohol, questioned why Van Heerden raised the matter and said that did not mean it was right that he was allegedly assaulted.
“They showed no decency or respect towards us as a black family living in that area,” the father said.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo confirmed that a case of common assault had been opened and investigations were under way. No arrests have been made so far," Masondo said.
The Star