Failing wings of justice?

What happens when the people who are charged with upholding the laws of society, turn on the people they have sworn to serve and protect?

oSizweni business owner, Faruk Omor, was probably asking himself this question as two police officers allegedly beat him while he was handcuffed at the back of his business.

Allegedly, two police officers from Madadeni Police Station visited Mr Omor at his business on January 14 at around 8pm.

Although he had security personal on hand, the police officers allegedly demanded to be let in, without introducing themselves or stating their reasons for visiting Mr Omor’s store at the late hour.

“My normal evening at work turned into a nightmare after this,” said Mr Omor.

Under the guise of searching the premises for drugs, the officers instructed the security guards to leave the building.

“They robbed me after the guards left. The door was locked behind the guards, so no one entered from outside.”

Spotting a nearby packet of cigarettes, the officers indulged themselves before handcuffing Mr Omor claiming smoking was not allowed in South Africa.

Being a specialist in cellphone repairs, there were several phones in Mr Omor’s store.

“They took five of my customers’ cellphones, and they also took my personal Samsung Galaxy S5. One of the cops said he was going to give this phone to his girlfriend.”

Mr Omor accused the officers of then helping themselves to the store’s till before taking him to the back of the business and beating him.

“They told me the R6 000 in the till was not enough for them and I had to get my friends to bring them more money,” he recalled.

Noticing the police van outside Mr Omor’s, store, some of his friends stopped to ensure nothing was wrong.

Mr Omor pleaded with his friends for the much-needed cash to pay off the justice keepers. Luckily the money was made available.

“They did not leave immediately. They said they needed the key for the handcuffs from the station. They put me in the back of the police van and drove towards the Madadeni Police-Station.”

They promised to let Mr Omor go only if he deleted the CCTV footage from the business.

Promising this, Mr Omor was taken back to his business.

Smartly, Mr Omor managed to save the CCTV footage by formatting his personal hard-drive rather than the CCTV hard-drive.

“They thought I deleted the footage, but I want the whole of South Africa to see what they have done. How many others have they robbed?” he asked.

Two weeks later and Mr Omor still has no answers.

Having opened a case at Newcastle Police Station, he alleged he had been given the run-around with investigating officers making constant excuses as to the progress of the investigation.

“Are they protecting each other now?” he asked in frustration.

Police spokesperson, Captain Shooz Magudulela, chose not to comment when questioned regarding the current working status of the officers involved in the incident.

“We can confirm that cash and cellphones to the estimated value of R19 000 were stolen.”

He further explained that the incident was not being investigated by a local division of the SAPS but by the Independent Complaint Directorate (ICD).

“It is thus up to the unit to charge them and submit members to court if allegations have been investigated properly. The case docket is also decided upon by the State Prosecutor, who releases an order to ICD to detain and present members of the SAPS to court,” explained Capt. Magudulela.

He emphasised it was unclear when investigations would be complete. “It is out of the powers of the general detectives, unless consultation is done with ICD in Durban.”

ICD was unable to comment regarding the issue due to the serious nature of the incident and required further investigations.

Mr Omor has since been told to drop the case by anonymous callers and feared for his safety.

Capt. Magudulela claimed ICD would place him under a victim protection programme if he was threatened in any way.