A Somali imam from Lawaaikamp, George, is shocked and utterly disappointed after his mosque was raided and trashed ‘for no good reason and without a warrant’, allegedly by a team of local police officers.

According to sheikh Abdul Rizaaq Mataan, several police officers, some in uniform and others not, forced their way onto the premises in Ntozini Street without a warrant or consent to enter the property at about 22:00 on Friday.

“The mosque is a fully functional mosque with prayer times five times a day.”

Mataan, who lives in an apartment at the back of the mosque, says he was the only person on the property at the time. He told George Herald on Monday that he was in his living quarters behind the mosque about 50m from the gate and if the officers called or knocked, he wouldn’t have heard anything because of the bad weather.

“I didn’t hear anything at first when they were at the gate because of the bad weather. It was raining and the wind was blowing,” said Mataan who has been leading the mosque for the past 17 years.

“When I thought I heard something I went to the mosque’s front door to have a look. I saw men with torches storming the premises. I didn’t know who they were or what they were doing here,” said Mataan. “They could have been anyone.”

Mataan said he then ran to his bedroom and took out his cellphone to call someone for help. “By then they [the officers] came around the back of the mosque and kicked down the door to my room. They broke every door in this building. They pointed guns at me and pulled me outside where they beat and kicked me. I thought I was going to die.

“Eventually they told me to lay in my room on my stomach on the floor with my hands behind my back. All the while shouting and screaming at me while trashing the place,” he said.

Photos of the aftermath of the incident shows thrown over bookshelves, Korans on the floor and the imam’s bed toppled over.

“They eventually left without finding anything. My doors are still broken,” Mataan said.

According to information received by the George Herald it is believed that the raid formed part of a search for the two inmates who escaped from George Prison last week.

Infringement of rights

According to the deputy chairman of the mosque committee in Lawaaikamp, Liban Husein Ali, their human rights have been infringed upon.

“We refer to chapter two of [the] constitution: The fundamental rights of integrity. On behalf of the Muslim community, we condemn this evil act against our place of worship and the assault on our respective imam of the masjid. We have opened a criminal case and we demand that this be independently investigated. There was no warrant or any consent to enter the premises,” said Ali.

Investigation

Southern Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property and common assault was opened at Conville Police Station on Saturday.

“The case was transferred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) for further investigation. The George police management took note of the allegations pertaining to the conduct of police members. These allegations are regarded as serious and an internal investigation is being instituted,” he said.

On Tuesday the station commanders of George, Brigadier Nolan Michaels, and Conville, Colonel AB Kriga, met with a delegation from the mosque where processes were explained to the group and agreements were made for follow-up engagement.

Ipid spokesperson Robbie Raburaru confirmed the investigation and said the case has been collected by their directorate on Monday and investigations started this week. “Charges of assault and malicious damage to property are being investigated,” he added.