I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the latest example of South African Police Service Force overkill. Journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika was arrested for a yet-to-be-defined offense rather uncomfortably soon after the same journalist leveled serious corruption allegations against Police Brigadier General His Worship The Most Reverend Doctor His Honour Bheki Cele.

Read on for a blow-by-blow account of how the police operate in our democracy.

The charges (whatever they might be at this point) against Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi Wa Afrika were thrown out of court on Thursday by the prosecutor, after it was determined that he had no case to answer.

At which point, the police failed to release him from custody, thus making the police guilty of detention without trial.

And then the charges were reinstated by the prosecutor after the Hawks bribed/coerced/threatened “convinced” the prosecutor that their were in fact grounds to reinstate the charges against the journalist.

After yet more frantic legal wrangling by the Sunday Times’ legal team, the journalist was freed ahead of his bail hearing. A high court judge determined that if the journalist was detained ‘for one minute longer” the interests of justice would not be served.

If a High Court judge is executing a judgment to release a suspect BEFORE their bail hearing, one ought to perhaps question the strength of said charges.

Hang on a second, what exactly were these charges that were dropped, and then reinstated, and then ignored? Let’s define what we’re dropping here.

But in the mean time, here’s a little advice to the Hawks and the SAPS: when you’re in a hole, stop digging.

At this point, some of you may ask, “SilverStreak, aren’t you afraid that the police will arrest YOU?!”

Well, no, not if the purpose of arresting someone is to get them in jail. I mean, that would just be redundant.