Ward 100 and 114 PR councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku is relieved that action is being taken against a Honeydew Police officer implicated in a gender-based violence case (GBV).
“The DA celebrates justice being upheld in the case of GBV. The Randburg Magistrates’ Court issued an arrest order against a police officer, who is the former husband of the victim, for violating the protection order she took out against him,” she said.
On Thursday, 26 November, Belinda told Northsider that a group of DA activists protested outside the court to show support for the victim in what has been a long road for justice and a win in the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV.
“This woman has been through hell since she attempted to lay a charge of assault against her former husband at the station where he is a member. The husband’s colleagues refused to open a case, and he responded with further assault and intimidation, even threatening her with his SAPS pistol,” she claimed.
Honeydew Police spokesperson, Captain Balan Muthan, who previously commented on this matter, said that the implicated members refuted the claims, saying that they were only trying to assist.
Belinda went on, “Worst of all he kidnapped their son and had refused to allow the mother to see her child since September. He also failed to show up at a hearing of the Children’s Court where an order was issued for the child to be returned to his mother.
“The husband spent six months in jail relating to the death of a suspect in custody, and remains in his position despite an on-going IPID investigation. Police have not confirmed whether he has been suspended pending the outcome of the case,” Belinda continued to spill the beans.
She said, “As her local councillor, I had to escalate this issue to my colleagues in Parliament before police started to take this matter seriously. We all know that many victims of GBV face secondary victimisation at the hands of police members who refuse to open cases, especially when the accused is a fellow officer.
“As the DA we stand with all victims of GBV and will be using cases like this to highlight the action and awareness required as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV. No one is above the law, especially those who are charged with upholding it.”
This is a developing story.
