Yesterday, 2oceansVibe ran a story about the brutal handling of an individual by a Vaalwater policeman. Instead of facing a charge of attempted murder, the officer involved is facing a lesser charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. He also spent time as the acting station commander of Vaalwater Police Station, after the incident occurred.

The officer faces a charge of severely assaulting Norman Mokau, 19, and a grade 10 learner at Meetsetshehla Secondary School in Vaalwater, on November 24 last year.

The incident occurred outside a tavern in Vaalwater, Limpopo.

A bystander secretly filmed the assault on Mokau, which took place in full view of the public, but the video footage has only just been made public.

At the time that the Sowetan got wind of the incident in early February this year, the provincial police spokesman, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, told them that:

We are definitely going to charge our member with attempted murder and not assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm or just common assault.

The top management of police in this province view the allegations against the member stationed at Vaalwater in a very serious light. We therefore assert that a criminal case against the officer in question has been registered and the investigation process is at an advanced stage.

So are the internal processes which either vindicate the member or expose his abuse of power. If the latter is the case, the concerned officer faces suspension and-or dismissal.

From the Sowetan:

Mokau said he was at the local tavern where some patrons were playing snooker.

He said he accidentally touched a ball on the table while the game was on. He offered to reimburse the R2 the players were charged for a round of snooker.

While standing up to take the money out to pay the players, he accidentally hit a window pane with his right hand. It broke and a cut on his hand. According to Mokau, he bled profusely and an off-duty paramedic bandaged his hand.

Mokau said out of the blue a police officer came from behind, grabbed him by his shirt collar, and without saying a word started assaulting him.

Mokau said after being loaded into the van, he was taken to the police station where an ambulance was waiting for him.

He said he was taken to hospital and discharged the next day. Mokau then went straight to the police station and opened a case of assault against the officer.

Late yesterday afternoon, after seeing the footage, the Independent Complaints Directorate confirmed it would be investigating a case of police brutality against the officer.

The officer is expected to appear at the Vaalwater Magistrate’s Court today on the assault charge.

It’s no wonder nobody wanted to speak to us yesterday.

[Sources: 2oceansVibe, M&G, Sowetan]