Officers abused positions to intimidate and unlawfully obtain money from Congolese national Ibrahim Hererimana.
Picture: iStock
A recent case at the Upington Regional Court has proven that no one is above the law after three former police officers were sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and extortion.
The court sentenced the former officers for kidnapping and extorting money from a foreign national in November 2021.
Ex-cops jailed for 8 years for kidnapping and extortion
Thapelo Semamai, 32, a former police constable; Phillip Gaekgwathi, 41, a former sergeant; and Martin Bosch, 38, also a former sergeant, were convicted after exploiting their positions as police officers to intimidate and unlawfully obtain money from Ibrahim Hererimana, a Congolese national who was legally residing in South Africa.
On the evening of 24 November 2021, Semamai, Gaekgwathi and Bosch went to Hererimana’s home in Upington, allegedly acting on information that drugs were being kept on the premises. The officers searched, but they didn’t find any drugs.
“Instead, they discovered cash comprising Hererimana’s personal savings accumulated from his wages over several years, as well as a severance payment he had received following the termination of his employment contract,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said.
“Rather than following lawful police procedures, the accused took the money without arresting or charging Hererimana with any offence.”
The officers forced the victim into an official police vehicle and drove him to various locations in and around Upington for several hours.
During the incident, Semamai, Gaekgwathi and Bosch threatened to kill Hererimana if he didn’t hand over money, telling him that as a foreign national, nobody would miss him.
Officers threatened to kill and deport him
The former officers also threatened to have him deported.
“Fearing for his life, Hererimana eventually handed over R4 000 in exchange for his freedom. Semamai further demanded R50, purportedly to buy food. The accused subsequently dropped Hererimana off at Semamai’s girlfriend’s residence,” Senokoatsane said.
After being dropped off, Hererimana reported the matter to the police, and his money was subsequently recovered from Gaekgwathi later that evening.
Senokoatsane said a police investigation revealed that the former officers has no legitimate operational reason to be conducting patrol duties together in the Paballelo policing precinct.
“Semamai and Bosch were officially on duty but assigned to the Upington precinct, while Semamai was supposed to be performing duties at the Community Service Centre rather than patrol duties,” he said.
Officers had no reason to be conducting patrol duties
The spokesperson added that Gaekgwathi was not authorised to be on patrol with the other two accused.
In aggravation of sentence, the state argued that the accused had abused the authority, trust and constitutional responsibilities entrusted to them as police officers.
“Their conduct extended beyond unlawfully obtaining money from the victim. They misused state resources, neglected their policing responsibilities, and turned the very powers intended to protect members of the public into instruments of intimidation, harassment and personal enrichment,” Senokoatsane said.
The state also argued that their conduct has bigger consequences for public confidence in law enforcement.
“Police officers are entrusted with protecting lives, enforcing the law and ensuring that everyone, irrespective of nationality or background, is treated with dignity and fairness,” Senokoatsane said.
“Instead, the accused exploited their positions and preyed on a person they perceived to be vulnerable.”
This mistrust was echoed in Hererimana’s victim impact statement, where he described how the incident left him living in fear of harassment and intimidation by law enforcement officials and had severely undermined his trust in the police.
Hererimana lived with fear and doesn’t trust the police
Upington Regional Court convicted Semamai, Gaekgwathi and Bosch of kidnapping and extortion.
Each accused was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and six years’ imprisonment for extortion.
The court ordered three years of the sentence for extortion to run concurrently with the kidnapping sentence, resulting in an effective sentence of eight years’ direct imprisonment for each accused.
“The NPA regards the abuse of public office by law enforcement officials as a serious betrayal of public trust,” Senokoatsane said.
“A police uniform cannot be used as a shield for criminal conduct, nor can the powers of the state be turned into tools of intimidation and personal enrichment.”
The NPA said the sentences reinforce the principle that no person is above the law.
