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Police officer said they should ‘finish this dog’

A family from Hlalamnandi claim that their constitutional right, to open a criminal case, has been denied by Middelburg police officers.

May 24, 2019

Jana Boshoff 4 minutes read

The shirt Prince Votjeka was wearing on the day of his arrest.

The incident relates to a bitter divorce battle and has ended with police arresting the feuding couple’s son for allegedly stabbing a police officer with a knife.

Prince Votjeka (18) claims that he smashed his father’s car because he refused to pay maintenance money. Alfred Votjeka says he could not pay the money in April, because his wife Lorna suddenly decided to oppose their divorce, forcing him to fork out money for legal fees he did not have and had to borrow.

Mr Votjeka junior said that he sent his father a message, telling him that he smashed his car, which was standing at another house in Hlalamnandi. Mr Votjeka senior said that he received numerous messages from his son, telling him that if he loved his car and did not want it damaged, he should send them money.

After Mr Votjeka found out that his car was damaged, he opened a case at the Middelburg Police Station.

“I wanted to teach Prince a lesson. I would never have imagined that it would turn out the way it did. I am very worried about my son,” said Mr Votjeka.

Also read: Decorated police officer bitten to death in bizarre cell attack

A couple of days later Mr Votjeka was sent to a tuck shop by his mother. Mrs Votjeka said that Prince came running back home a few minutes later with four men, some wielding guns, in tow.

Gugu Mahlangu, Mrs Votjeka’s sister, who was also present on the day, said that they had no idea what was happening. The men claimed that they were police officers, but they were dressed in civilian clothes and were driving in an unmarked double cab bakkie. She claimed that the men did not show any identification.

A fight broke out inside the house.

“They grabbed Prince and started beating him up. In the process, they broke so many things inside the house, including our kitchen counter and cupboards.”
She said that a police officer was bleeding.

“I think he hit his head against a sharp edge in the kitchen during the fight. He was so busy beating up Prince he did not even notice,” said Mrs Mahlangu. Mrs Votjeka admitted to hurling a chair at the police officers.

Mr Votjeka junior was arrested on charges of trespassing, malicious damage to property and also for stabbing a police officer with a knife, something he vehemently denies he did.

Mr Votjeka claimed that when he was taken away by police officers, he was not taken straight to the charge office but to another building instead. There Mr Votjeka claimed that he was tubed (when a plastic bag is pulled over someone’s head to cut off oxygen) and kicked in his private parts. He also had two deep gashes on his head where he was hit with a pistol.

“One officer said that they should ‘finish this dog’ but then another one said that they should not because my father is a soldier,” said Mr Votjeka.

Also read: Police protocol biased?

When he was taken to the cells, his mother, who was waiting at the charge office, insisted on seeing him. She said she fainted when she saw the state he was in. Police arrested her too, also on a charge of stabbing a police officer with a knife.

Mother and son were kept in custody over the Easter weekend and appeared in court on the following Tuesday.

They claim that they were refused the right to open counterclaims of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm against the arresting officers, causing them to turn to the Middelburg Observer to get themselves heard.

“We want justice. Prince was seriously injured, he has trouble urinating and his hand is still sore. But instead of assisting us, we are being sent from one person to the other. Is it okay for police officers to assault someone like that? Are they above the law?” asked Mrs Mahlangu.

The family has now made contact with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. Mrs Mahlangu said that IPID advised them to go directly to the Middelburg Station Commander, Brig Thandi Jyane, for assistance.

The family went to see her on Tuesday and was told that they will be called for a meeting with the commander at the Detective Unit to lodge a formal complaint. The meeting did not take place. Mrs Mahlangu says that they feel they are still being given the runaround. They have now been instructed by IPID to write an email, with the photos attached, so they can tend to the matter.