On Thursday, November 19, the Intlungu yaseMasetyotymbeni Movement, which represents land occupiers in Khayelitsha, staged a protest to demand that the City of Cape Town provide them with basic services like water, proper sanitation, and electricity.

They also demanded that the City retract its applications for court interdicts to remove them from occupied land.

Community leader Zwelenkosi Ngidi was among roughly 80 people who gathered for the protest.

Per IOL, at some point during the protest, during a verbal exchange between Ngidi and Cape Town Metro police officers, one of them tipped him out of his wheelchair.

The incident was caught on camera:

From another angle:

This is unacceptable from the Metro Police. This is not the way to treat people 😡😡 pic.twitter.com/9XolQpAzyd

— Veve (@LudidiVelani) November 19, 2020

Ngidi says that this is the third time that he has been “assaulted” by law enforcement, but the first time that it was caught on camera.

The City of Cape Town has suspended the police officers, with Mayor Dan Plato making the following statement last week:

“Following a video that was shared on social media this morning regarding an incident involving two City of Cape Town Metro Police officers and a member of the public in a wheelchair, I immediately discussed the matter with the City’s Safety and Security executive director, Richard Bosman, who confirmed that both officers have been suspended with immediate effect pending the outcome of a full investigation.”

The City claims to be trying to increase trust between law enforcement and the community.

Regularly reported cases of police violence such as this are indicative of a systemic problem that won’t be solved until officers are held accountable for their actions – something which doesn’t appear to happen very often.

[source:iol]