Editorial management at Rekord spent hours on Friday morning in a futile attempt to lay a charge of unlawful arrest against the Tshwane metro police following Thursday’s detention of a reporter who was taking photographs in a public street.
However, the best they could achieve was for the Garsfontein police station commander Col PP Sethosa to accept a charge of intimidation against the metro police who had forced journalist Eliot Mahlase into a police van before keeping him against his will at the police station.
“Mahlase was not booked into the cells and therefore there was no arrest,” was the stance taken by Sethosa in refusing to accept a charge of unlawful arrest when Rekord editors assisted Mahlase in attempting to lay a charge on Friday morning.
The 24-year-old Mahlase was taking photos of the metro police arresting a man for alleged reckless driving when he was apprehended by the metro police, forced into a Tshwane metro vehicle and taken to the Garsfontein police station. At the police station Mahlase was asked to provide identification and was told to delete the photos he had taken at the scene. He was then ordered to hand over his cellphone, which he had used to take the photos.
Sethosa admitted that Rekord deputy editor Corné van Zyl received poor service from the police when she tried to get the details about the detention of Mahlase from the police at the station on Thursday.
“Col Sethosa confirmed that an internal investigation into the conduct of the police at the charge office would be done,” Van Zyl said. A high-level meeting between Rekord and the Tshwane metro police has been scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the incident, Van Zyl said.
The Garsfontein police earlier refused to accept a charge laid by Mahlase of unlawful arrest after his release when the police established that he was employed by a newspaper. They also could not give any reason for his detention. Furthermore, they would not accept a charge against the metro police laid by a member of the public who witnessed and photographed the detention and treatment of Mahlase.
The witness, Ria David, said she was dumbfounded when she saw Mahlase being detained. “I saw them arrest the bystander who took pictures and I could not believe my eyes. He didn’t do anything wrong,” David said.
Mahlase was totally taken aback by the action of the metro police at the scene of the arrest.
“I wasn’t scared at the time, but I couldn’t understand why I was being forced into a police van,” Mahlase said.
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